Cillian Murphy actually won't appear in 28 Years Later but may turn up 'somewhere along the line'

Mystery solved, horror fans. While Cillian Murphy is involved in the new trilogy of sequels to 28 Days Later, he's not reprising his role of Jim — at least not in the first one.

Andrew Macdonald, a producer on 28 Years Later, confirmed to Empire in a new interview, "He is not in the first film, but I’m hoping there will be some Jim somewhere along the line." He adds that Murphy is "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."

When the first 28 Years Later trailer dropped in December, some viewers speculated that Murphy could be playing a certain zombie that bore a striking resemblance to the Oppenheimer Oscar winner. However, that zombie now graces Empire's March cover, and the close-up confirms it is very much not him. Angus Neill, an extra on the film, actually plays that particular member of the infected.

In 28 Days Later, Murphy's Jim, a bike courier, woke up in a hospital bed to see how swiftly the "Rage Virus" plague reshaped the world, turning the infected into violent, uncontrollable monsters. As the title suggests, 28 Years Later picks up nearly three decades later. Director Danny Boyle and writer Alex Garland also return to their roles.

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The new story now takes us to Lindisfarne, a.k.a. Holy Island, off the northeast coast of England. The locale is connected to the mainland by a single causeway that is only accessible once the tides recede. Aaron Taylor-Johnson and Jodie Comer star as Jamie and Isla, two parents raising their 12-year-old son, Spike (Alfie Williams), in a highly isolated community. When he comes of age, Spike embarks on a rite of passage: a journey beyond Lindisfarne to witness firsthand what the world has become. That's when the real drama starts.

Ralph Fiennes, who plays a doctor in the film, previously let slip some other details. "It centers on a young boy who wants to find a doctor to help his dying mother," he said in an October interview with IndieWire. "He leads his mother through this beautiful Northern English terrain. But, of course, around them hiding in forests and hills and woods are the infected. But he finds a doctor who is a man we might think is going to be weird and odd, but actually is a force for good."

28 Years Later will arrive in theaters June 20. The next sequel, the Nia DaCosta-directed 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple, which has already filmed, is scheduled for release on Jan. 16, 2026.