Cillian Murphy is returning for 28 Years Later, but in a "surprising way"

28 Days Later
(Image credit: 20th Century Studios)

Sony Motion Pictures chairman Tom Rothman has confirmed that Cillian Murphy will indeed be appearing in 28 Years Later, a new sequel to Murphy's 2002 breakout movie.

When asked by Deadline if Murphy will be back for the new film, Rothman replied, "Yes, but in a surprising way and in a way that grows, let me put it that way."

28 Years Later was initially announced as a two-part film before later reports confirmed it as a trilogy, with Rothman specifying that 28 Years Later is "not in any way a literal sequel." Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Ralph Fiennes, and Jodie Comer are set to star in 28 Years Later Part One, which will follow a new group of survivors as they try to navigate the fallout from an aggression-inducing virus almost three decades after the initial outbreak. Director Danny Boyle and writer Alex Garland have reunited for the two-part film, with Boyle directing Part One and Garland penning the script.

The flagship film starred Murphy as a bike courier who wakes up from a coma only to find that a virus has all but destroyed society. 28 Days Later grossed $82 million against its $8 million budget, and put Murphy on the path to becoming a household name. 28 Weeks Later, a standalone sequel directed by Juan Carlos Fresnadillo, hit theaters in 2007.

28 Years Later does not yet have a release date. For more, check out our guides to the most exciting upcoming horror movies, and the best horror movies of all time.

Lauren Milici
Senior Writer, Tv & Film

Lauren Milici is a Senior Entertainment Writer for 12DOVE currently based in the Midwest. She previously reported on breaking news for The Independent's Indy100 and created TV and film listicles for Ranker. Her work has been published in Fandom, Nerdist, Paste Magazine, Vulture, PopSugar, Fangoria, and more.

Read more
28 Days Later
28 Years Later won't feature Cillian Murphy, but producer says don't count him out from popping up "somewhere [down] the line"
Angus Neill in the 28 Years Later trailer
28 Years Later director Danny Boyle says the horror sequel takes a "wholly different approach" as he also reacts to fans thinking that zombie was Cillian Murphy
28 Days Later
A possible Cillian Murphy cameo in the first trailer for horror sequel 28 Years Later puts a horrible twist on the original's ending
Angus Neill in the 28 Years Later trailer
The viral Cillian Murphy zombie in 28 Years Later has been debunked
28 Years Later trailer
28 Years Later gets a creepy first trailer as Aaron Taylor-Johnson and Jodie Comer survive a zombie apocalypse
28 Days Later
22 years since its release, 28 Days Later is finally returning to digital after horror fans have struggled for years to get their hands on it
Latest in Horror Movies
Theo James as Hal in Osgood Perkins' The Monkey
It might only be March, but Stephen King adaptation The Monkey is now the highest grossing horror movie of 2025
Train to Busan passengers
Train to Busan director is returning to the horror sub-genre with a new movie described as the culmination of his zombie universe
John Lithgow as Dave Crealy in The Rule of Jenny Pen
John Lithgow and Geoffrey Rush's twisted chiller is a much-needed shake-up to the horror genre, disrupting harmful elderly stereotypes embraced by the likes of X and The Shining
Kathryn Newton in Abigail
Marvel star joins former Scream directors for highly-anticipated upcoming horror sequel
Mickey 17
Robert Pattinson says he got so scared watching a horror movie that he fell asleep holding two kitchen knives: "I'm too sensitive"
Bambi in The Reckoning
Bambi decapitates a man, chases victims through the woods, and ruins your childhood in new trailer for twisted horror from the creators of Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey
Latest in News
Balatro
Balatro creator started "properly playing the game myself about a week before launch" and had "a pretty emotional moment" where he realized it's "actually fun"
Death Stranding 2 Collector's Edition
Hideo Kojima reveals Death Stranding 2: On the Beach release date, and the Collector's Edition includes exactly what I predicted it would
Kingmakers
Kingmakers is a strategy game about taking on medieval armies with a gun, but its devs thought the giant mech was too much
The Witcher 3 lead says "not many games" were trying to match the RPG back in 2015, and that meant "there was a risk" to making it in the first place
The Blood of Dawnwalker
The Witcher 3 dev says his new vampire RPG Blood of Dawnwalker wants to challenge genre conventions, but only if "we're changing them to actually achieve some goal"
Daredevil recap: The Defenders
Marvel fans are discussing which of the Netflix series characters would have survived the Blip