Cillian Murphy Confirmed for ’28 Years Later’ Trilogy

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There’s been a lot of back and forth about whether or not Cillian Murphy appears in the upcoming “28 Years Later” to reprise the role of survivor Jim. The film’s release is only a couple of weeks away, and we finally have a definitive answer from director Danny Boyle.

The filmmaker says Murphy will appear in the trilogy springing out of “28 Years Later”, but he won’t be in the first film that’s releasing on June 20.

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Speaking to IGN, Boyle explained, “Well, it’s three films, a trilogy of films which have connecting characters … We’ve shot the first two back-to-back, and that was for logistical reasons, actor availability reasons, and for story reasons as well. They’re literally continuous.”

Nia DaCosta directed the second film, “28 Years Later: The Bone Temple”, which hits theaters January 16, 2026.

“[Cillian Murphy] is in the second one,” Boyle confessed. “I shouldn’t give away too much. I’ll get killed.”

Whether or not Murphy appears in the third film seems to be dependent only on one thing: whether or not the first movie, “28 Years Later”, is successful enough for a third movie to happen.

“There’s a coda… it’s not a coda, it’s the epilogue or an end theme at the end of the first film [’28 Years Later’] that gives you a handover to the second film,” Boyle said.

“Although each story completes itself, there’s a handover section to the next film as well. So it’s very ambitious. We haven’t got the money for the third one yet.”

“It will depend how the first one does, I guess. But hopefully if we do ok, they’ll give us the go-ahead for the money and for the third one. Everybody’s standing by for that, really. Including Cillian.”

While there’s still no official word yet, rumors persist that Murphy is up for a very different kind of project. Unconfirmed reports suggest the “Oppenheimer” star is a favorite to play the villainous Voldemort in the upcoming “Harry Potter” reboot series.

The rumors have sparked enough interest that even the former Voldemort, Ralph Fiennes, has given his thumbs up to the casting.

“28 Years Later” releases in theaters June 20, 2025.

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