Is Cillian Murphy’s Jim hidden in the ‘28 Years Later’ trailer?
RIP Cillian Murphy.
The Oscar winner, 48, appears to not survive the rage-inducing virus that destroys the world in “28 Years Later,” the third installment in the 28 Days Later film series.
Many fans believe that Murphy’s character from the original film, Jim, is shown to be a zombie in the trailer that dropped Tuesday.
The new footage features franchise newcomers Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Jodie Comer and Ralph Fiennes fighting zombies in a post-apocalyptic world.
In one scene, Jim is seemingly shown creepily arising from behind a bush nearby Comer’s character.
Meanwhile, Taylor-Johnson’s character walks around with a bow and arrow and then comes across a zombie in a terrifying moment.
“What will humanity become?” the tagline for the trailer says.
In 2002’s “28 Days Later,” Jim is a bicycle courier who awakens from a coma in London to a post-apocalyptic world reeling from the accidental release of a highly contagious virus.
Murphy starred in the original film opposite Naomie Harris, Brendan Gleeson, Megan Burns and Christopher Eccleston.
Murphy did not reprise his role in 2007’s “28 Weeks Later,” which starred Robert Carlyle, Rose Byrne, Jeremy Renner, Harold Perrineau and Idris Elba.
Murphy is not listed as a cast member in the promotional material for “28 Years Later,” according to Variety, but he is an executive producer on the film.
The logline for the upcoming film reads, “It’s been almost three decades since the rage virus escaped a biological weapons laboratory, and now, still in a ruthlessly enforced quarantine, some have found ways to exist amidst the infected.”
“One such group of survivors lives on a small island connected to the mainland by a single, heavily-defended causeway,” the summary continues. “When one of the group leaves the island on a mission into the dark heart of the mainland, he discovers secrets, wonders and horrors that have mutated not only the infected but other survivors as well.”
“28 Years Later,” directed by Danny Boyle and written by Alex Garland, is the first installment in a new trilogy.
The next film, “28 Years Later Part II: The Bone Temple,” is being directed by Nia DaCosta. Murphy is the only confirmed cast member for the sequel so far.
Murphy has been busy in his career since winning an Academy Award for “Oppenheimer” earlier this year.
He’s set to star in the upcoming drama film “Steve” and is reprising his role as Thomas Shelby in the long-awaited “Peaky Blinders” movie.
“28 Years Later” hits theaters on June 20, 2025.
