Yahoo News Cillian Murphy confirmed to return as Jim in 28 Years Later
While some fans might know Cillian Murphy best as Tommy Shelby, or maybe it was his Oscar win for Oppenheimer that caught your attention. But it was actually 28 Days Later, the 2002 zombie apocalypse film, which catapulted him into public consciousness for many.
So what's all this about a revival, 28 Years Later? Here's everything you need to know about the new film.
28 Years Later cast
You're not ready for the calibre of talent that's on board for the new film. Director and producer Danny Boyle, who worked on the first two projects, will be back, alongside writer Alex Garland. As for the cast? The first 28 Years Later film will star:
Jack O'Connell
Jodie Comer
Ralph Fiennes
Aaron Taylor-Johnson
Amazingly, Cillian Murphy is also due to return to the franchise as Jim, with Sony Motion Pictures chairman Tim Rothman quietly confirming the news in a May 2024 interview with Deadline. When asked about Cillian reprising the role of Jim for the new movie, he shared, "Yes [he does], but in a surprising way and in a way that grows, let me put it that way."
Back in February 2024, Cillian surprised fans when the actor told Variety he would be interested in being in the new film, sharing, "I’ve always said I would love to be involved because that movie changed everything for me – I have great affection for it and for those guys, [Alex and Danny]. I never watch my own films, except that one.
"It’s always on around Halloween and during the pandemic people were constantly sending me clips. And I’ve shown it to my kids. It’s really stood up, even though it’s 22 years old now, so I’m really thrilled that we’ll get the band back together to make this one.”"
Wait, what is 28 Years Later?
Over 20 years (yes, two decades!) after the original film was released, whispering of a sequel to 28 Days Later started in April 2024. while plot details are vague, the title suggests it will be set almost 30 years after the original film, which centred around a bike courier (Cillian) who woke up from a coma after the outbreak of a deadly virus, which was turning people into zombies.
There is already a second film which followed 28 Days Later called 28 Weeks Later, which came out in 2007 and starred Robert Carlyle, Rose Byrne, Jeremy Renner, Harold Perrineau and Catherine McCormack. So 28 Years Later is the third film, and is also planned to be part of a new trilogy itself! According to Deadline, the plan is to shoot the first and second instalment back-to-back.
What else is known about 28 Years Later?
To be honest, not very much - there's no news on when production will start, but the film has been in the pipeline for a while - back in 2022, Danny Boyle revealed that a script had been written, teasing, "It feels like a very good time actually. It's funny, I hadn't thought about it until you just said it, and I remembered 'Bang, this script!' which is again set in England, very much about England. Anyway, we'll see… who knows?"
When will 28 Years Later be released?
The first part of a trilogy is set to come out on 20th June, 2025. Nice!
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