28 Years Later confirms Oscar winner in cast as Danny Boyle film takes over Northumberland town

As production on the film moved to the Northumberland town of Rothbury on Tuesday, it has now been confirmed that an Oscar winner will join the cast of 28 Years Later. And it's the news that fans of the franchise have been longing to hear, as the actor in question is none other than Cillian Murphy, the breakout star of original movie 28 Days Later.

Well before he starred as Thomas Shelby in BBC smash Peaky Blinders and decades before his Academy Awards win for Oppenheimer, Cillian was still a relative unknown when he landed the role of bicycle courier Jim in the zombie flick, with his character waking from a coma to find himself in a post-apocalyptic London torn apart by a virus that turned pretty much the whole population into zombies.

Given that he didn't return for the first sequel in 2007, there had been some doubts that Cillian would be back for 28 Years Later but the cat has now been let out of the bag on his involvement in the movie by Sony Motion Pictures Group chairman Tom Rothman, who was put on the spot about whether he'd feature.

READ MORE: Sheep made the stars of the show as Hollywood comes to Rothbury for 28 Years Later

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Speaking to Deadline, Rothman said: "Yes, but in a surprising way and in a way that grows, let me put it that way."

Other big names who have already been busy filming 28 Years Later include Killing Eve's Jodie Comer, who admitted to watching videos of Cheryl to master a Geordie accent, Aaron Taylor Johnson and ex Skins star Jack O'Connell, most recently seen in Amy Winehouse biopic Back to Black.

After crew were spotted setting up on Monday, filming got underway in the Jubilee Crescent area of Rothbury on Tuesday morning, as residents hoped to catch a glimpse at some of the A list cast.