Fans Think Cillian Murphy May Make a Surprising Cameo in '28 Years Later'

When it first debuted in 2002, 28 Days Later did not seem like the kind of movie that would eventually become a franchise. Cillian Murphy was not the movie star that he is today, and director Danny Boyle hadn't yet won any Oscars. Now, though, Boyle is back in the director's seat for 28 Years Later, the third chapter in a franchise that also includes 28 Weeks Later.

Now that a trailer for 28 Years Later has been released, many are wondering whether Cillian Murphy will be returning to the franchise for this installment. Here's what we know.

Murphy's Jack was the central character in 28 Days Later. He played a man who wakes up from a coma to find that the United Kingdom has been destroyed by something known as the "rage virus." The first trailer for 28 Years Later does not include any footage of Jack, and instead emphasizes the new cast, which includes Aaron Taylor-Johsnon, Jodie Comer, and Ralph Fiennes.

There is one zombie in the trailer that appears to resemble Murphy, but it hasn't been definitively confirmed whether he's making a cameo as a zombified version of his character. Murphy is a producer on the film, but he has not been a part of any casting announcements, so any appearance he makes in the film would likely be a secret. He's certainly not the film's main character, though, at least if the trailer is to be believed.

It's not unprecedented for this franchise to reset with a totally new cast of characters. That's precisely what they did in 2007 with 28 Weeks Later, which is set in the same world as the previous installment but features an entirely new slate of actors. Murphy's star has only continued to rise in the years since 28 Days Later, and he did work with Boyle again on Sunshine, which was released in 2007.

The film's official plot synopsis explains: "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."

"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," the summary explains.

Alex Garland and Danny Boyle worked together on the 2002 film, but neither one of them was involved in the sequel. They have reunited for this third installment, though, and assembled quite the cast to make the movie.

Many of the movie's details and surprises likely won't be unveiled until the movie hits theaters in the summer of 2025. For now, then, fans will just have to speculate about whether Murphy will have any sort of on-screen role in the film.