While it was previously reported that 28 Days Later star Cillian Murphy wouldn’t be returning for the first installment of the upcoming sequel trilogy, director Danny Boyle has now confirmed that the Oscar-winning actor will, in fact, appear in 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple, the second film in the planned trilogy.

The rage virus is set to rage back into theaters on June 20, 2025, with the debut of 28 Years Later. Its direct sequel, directed by Nia DaCosta and titled 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple, will follow on January 16, 2026.

As for the trilogy’s third chapter? That one’s still awaiting financial backing—and Murphy’s involvement may be key.

“She gets a bit of Cillian at the end,” Boyle revealed to Business Insider, referring to DaCosta’s film. “All I can say is you have to wait for Cillian, but hopefully he will help us get the third film financed.”

Murphy originally played Jim, the everyman-turned-survivor who awakened to a world devastated by infection in the 2002 classic 28 Days Later. Boyle’s comments suggest Jim’s return may only be a tease in The Bone Temple, setting him up for a potentially larger role in the trilogy’s final act—if it gets the green light.

In 28 Years Later, the world remains gripped by the virus nearly three decades after its escape from a biological lab. Survivors now live in isolated, militarized zones—including a small island linked to the mainland by a single, guarded causeway. When one survivor ventures back to the mainland, he uncovers not only the horrors of the infected, but disturbing transformations among the human survivors as well.

The new cast includes Jack O’Connell (Amy Winehouse: Back To Black), Jodie Comer (Killing Eve), Aaron Taylor-Johnson (Kraven the Hunter), Alfie Williams (His Dark Materials), and Ralph Fiennes (The Menu).

Original screenwriter Alex Garland (Ex Machina, Annihilation) has returned to pen the script alongside Boyle, reuniting the creative team that first unleashed the virus on moviegoers over two decades ago.

With the virus evolving and old characters returning, 28 Years Later promises to deliver a bleak and brutal continuation of one of horror’s most iconic modern sagas.