Cillian Murphy admits it was ‘quite emotional’ revisiting 28 Days Later role

Cillian Murphy has admitted that it was an emotional experience revisiting his 28 Days Later character after more than 20 years.

Fans were disappointed when they learned that Jim, Murphy’s character in the 2002 film 28 Days Later, wouldn’t be in this year’s zombie horror 28 Years Later, which was conceived by the original’s directing and writing team, Danny Boyle and Alex Garland.

However, Boyle later revealed that Jim would briefly appear in the sequel, The Bone Temple, and star in a third film if it gets the go-ahead.

Murphy, who has already filmed The Bone Temple, reflected on what it was like to play Jim again during an appearance on the Happy Sad Confused podcast.

“I was only in it for a brief period, but it was quite emotional to go back and to think about how b**ody long ago it was,” he shared. “The fact that these films still seem to have retained some relevance and people enjoy it still.”

The Oscar-winning actor added that it was “so heartening” that 28 Days Later has stuck around and is still talked about “after all these years”.

When podcast host Josh Horowitz asked if the third film had been given the green light, Murphy declined to address the question directly and replied, “Listen, if everyone goes and sees the second one, we’re in good shape.”

Earlier this week, the Oppenheimer star responded to the furore around the first film’s trailer, which showed a zombie that many fans mistook for Jim.

“That’s great people think I look like a zombie cadaver,” he told The Observer. “It’s very flattering.”

The first and second films in the new trilogy were shot back-to-back. The Bone Temple, which was directed by Candyman’s Nia DaCosta, will be released in January 2026.