All things going well, Cillian Murphy will return in the third 28 Years Later movie, the final chapter of the planned trilogy – but, according to Danny Boyle, it’s not a guarantee.
When the first trailer for 28 Years Later dropped, viewers were confident they spotted an undead Jim rising from a field. It turned out to be someone else entirely (his name is Angus Neill), but that doesn’t mean Murphy isn’t involved.
He’s an executive producer on the new film, plus its next sequel, Nia DaCosta’s 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple.
As per Boyle, Murphy will return in that movie, albeit it’ll be a brief appearance to tee up a third film – and that’s where it could get complicated.
Cillian Murphy will be “dominant” in 28 Years Later sequel if it gets made
It’s this simple: 28 Years Later needs to be successful enough at the box office to convince the powers that be at Sony (specifically, as Boyle has pointed out, CEO Tom Rothman) to green-light the third movie.
Murphy is set to appear by the end of The Bone Temple, but his role will be much larger in the third (pending) film.
Speaking to Josh Horowitz for his Happy Sad Confused podcast, Boyle said: “Good things come to those who wait.
“There’s a handover technique… although the films sit and exist individually, as you hope them to be satisfying stories on their own, within each one is a handover sequence where these characters are introduced, and that happens in the second film.”
This echoes what Boyle told Business Insider. “All I can say is you have to wait for Cillian, but hopefully he will help us get the third film financed,” he earlier said.
However, Sony has yet to confirm the third (still untitled) installment. “If we get the money… Cillian will obviously be a dominant factor in the third part of the film. But the story arc, as Alex [Garland] says, has been very carefully worked out.
“You know what it is, they’re just waiting to see what business it does, really.”
Andrew Macdonald, one of the film’s producers, earlier explained to EW that Spike (Alfie Williams) is the through-line of the trilogy.
“Well, it’s three films, a trilogy of films which have connecting characters.
“He will run right way through the films. We’ve shot the first two back-to-back, and that was for logistical reasons, actor availability reasons, and for story reasons as well. They’re literally continuous.”
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