28 Years Later cast announced – but Cillian Murphy fans are up in arms

The cast for the long-awaited sequel 28 Years Later has finally been announced.

The film, which will be the third in the series, following on from 28 Days Later (2002) and 28 Weeks Later (2007), will be set in a post-apocalyptic version of the UK that’s been ravaged by a virus that turns people into crazed zombies.

It is set to be the first in a trilogy of sequels to the popular franchise, Deadline reports, and will be set 28 years after the original film, which introduced horror fans to a then-unknown Cillian Murphy.

The Oscar-winner played the film’s protagonist, Jim, who wakes up in hospital roughly a month after the destruction of civilised society.

However, the new film will not feature Murphy, who won legions of fans following his role as Thomas Shelby in BBC series Peaky Blinders, which ended in 2021. Most recently, he won Best Actor for Christopher Nolan film Oppenheimer.

Instead, sources claim that 28 Years Later will star Jodie Comer, Aaron Taylor-Johnson and Ralph Fienne – with Murphy reportedly returning to the franchise as the film’s executive producer.

Little is known about the plot but, unlike the very first film in the series, which had a modest budget of just £8m, the new sequels have a reported budget of £75m each.

28 Years Later will be directed by Danny Boyle, who directed 28 Days Later, and will be based on a script written by Civil War director Alex Garland.

According to reports, the first and second films will be shot back to back.

Fans of Murphy have been quick to comment on his absence from the cast on Twitter (X).

One lamented: “WHEN [WILL THEY] ANNOUNCE CILLIAN THO???? I ONLY CARE ABOUT CILLIAN” [sic]. “But where’s Cillian Murphy?!” questioned a second.

“NOOO WHERES CILLIAN MURPHY,” [sic] wrote a third, while a fourth added: “Cillian just as producer tho....” [sic]

News of the rumoured cast comes after Murphy said he wanted to star in the reboot while promoting Oppenheimer last year.

“I would be there in a flash,” he told The Independent last year when asked about the possibility of a sequel.

“I made two movies with both of those guys, and I would love to work with them again. Of course, I’m there.”