‘He wanted to be involved,’ movie’s producer said. The producer of 28 Years Later has categorically confirmed Cillian Murphy won’t be in the new film. Speculation has been rife over whether the Oppenheimer star would be reprising the role he first played in Danny Boyle’s 2002 post-apocalypse horror 28 Days Later.
![[Everybody thought this ‘28 Years Later’ zombie – played by Angus Neil – was Cillian Murphy]](https://static.independent.co.uk/2025/01/10/11/newFile-6.jpg)
Fans were recently left convinced Murphy appears as a zombie in the long-awaited sequel’s first trailer, but this has since been debunked. The hope remains, though, that he will still show up in some form or another. It turns out this won’t be the case, with producer Andrew Macdonald revealing that, despite Murphy “wanting to be involved”, he is not in the finished film.
However, it seems Murphy’s character, Jim, might be in a future instalment, with two more set to follow 28 Years Later. The second film in the trilogy of sequels, subtitled The Bone Temple, will be released in January 2026, just seven months after 28 Years Later hits cinemas.
“I’m hoping there will be some Jim somewhere along the line,” Macdonald said. “He’s involved at the moment as an executive producer and I would hope we can work with him in some way in the future in the trilogy.”. While the producer did not confirm his appearance, it has been reported that Murphy will play a large role in The Bone Temple, which star Ralph Fiennes recently revealed has already been shot by director Nia Dacosta.
