Cillian Murphy has a good sense of humor — even when he’s the butt of the joke. The Irish actor rose to fame following his role as Jim in Danny Boyle’s zombie classic 28 Days Later. More than 20 years later, he’s set to reprise his role in the next installment of the franchise… but some fans mistakenly thought they’d already caught a glimpse of him in the most recent one.
After the release of the trailer for 28 Years Later in December 2024, excited fans flooded the internet with theories when they mistook one of the Infected for Murphy himself. While the Peaky Blinders star is known for his lack of a social media presence and didn’t initially see the comments and memes himself, he told the Observer that his son let him know about the swirling speculation.
“That’s great people think I look like a zombie cadaver,” Murphy quipped at the time. “It’s very flattering.”
While Murphy has confirmed that he will have a part in the upcoming sequel 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple (presumably not as a zombie), he teased that Jim is “only in it for a little bit.” But fans don’t need to worry, they just need to make sure that they head to theaters if they want to see more of him in the future, as the small role will set up his character for a larger part in the sequel after that, which has yet to be greenlit.
“Everyone’s got to go and see the second one. I’m sure they will – it’s really, really good.” – Cillian Murphy
’28 Years Later: The Bone Temple’ Will Answer Questions About a Mysterious Character
28 Years Later begins with an intriguing (and still unexplained) prologue that follows a young boy named Jimmy Crystal who escapes from his Infected-filled home and runs to a nearby church. There, he discovers his giddy minister father, who claims the Rage outbreak is a “glorious day” of “judgment.” He gives Jimmy a crucifix and tells him to keep it with him always and “have faith.” As the horde of Infected break into the church, Jimmy runs away and finds a hiding place, but his father allows himself to be killed.
The rest of the film cuts to a different story and set of characters entirely and Jimmy doesn’t make another appearance until the very end of the film, when we see him as an adult (Jack O’Connell), where he appears to be the charismatic leader of a strange, cult-like group of survivors. The trailer for The Bone Temple heavily teases at Jimmy’s present-day timeline as young Spike (Alfie Williams) appears to join their group. In a recent interview with IGN, Boyle himself confirmed Jimmy would be a “hugely significant figure” as his character and storyline are explored more deeply.
28 Years Later: The Bone Temple hits theaters on Jan. 16, 2026.
