Cillian Murphy's 28 Years Later role confirmed as director left 'eating humble pie'

The highly awaited follow-up to 28 Days Later and 28 Weeks Later is coming to cinemas later this year, but fans of the zombie franchise are facing some major disappointment regarding the cast.

Fans were sent into a frenzy after getting a glimpse of the horror film's first trailer on December 10, convinced they had spotted Cillian Murphy in the footage.

In a moment that appears only briefly on-screen, an emaciated zombie bearing a striking resemblance to the Oscar-winner rises up from a field.

It stirred speculation that it could be Cillian's character Jim from the original 2002 film who has met a grisly fate. However, it later emerged that the zombie was not the actor but a lookalike extra, Angus Neill.

In another crushing blow for fans of the franchise, it has now emerged that Cillian will not have an on-screen role at all, though he is involved in the project as an executive producer, reports the Mirror.

In an interview with Empire magazine, producer Andrew Macdonald divulged:"[On] this, we wanted him to be involved and he wanted to be involved. He is not in the first film, but I’m hoping there will be some Jim somewhere along the line.

"He’s 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.”

Director Danny Boyle, meanwhile, acknowledged he had been tipped off about the possibility of the zombie extra being mistaken for Cillian.

"I showed my girlfriend the trailer and she said, ‘People will think that’s Cillian.’ I said, ‘Don’t be silly,'" he shared. "I ignored her. So I’ve eaten a bit of humble pie since.”

The highly anticipated film, scheduled for release in 2025, marks the beginning of the series' first trilogy, with the second installment, 28 Years Later Part II: The Bone Temple, set to hit cinemas in 2026.

Boasting a star-studded cast, the movie features Ralph Fiennes, Aaron-Taylor Johnson, and Jodie Comer.

The official synopsis for 28 Years Later 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.

"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 releases in cinemas on June 20, 2025