Oppenheimerstar Cillian Murphy says he’d love to do a28 Days Latersequel if one condition is met.
Murphy is a household name in 2023, thanks to hisleading role in Christopher Nolan’sOppenheimer, but he’s been acting in big movies for over two decades. Murphy’s big break came in the 2002 zombiehorrorapocalypse film28 Days Later. Since then, he’s turned in stellar performances like Robert Fischer inInception,the Scarecrow in Christian Bale’sDark Knighttrilogy, and Thomas Shelby inPeaky Blinders. Despite finding success in various genres, the Irish actor recently said he wouldn’t mind returning to apocalyptic London.
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28 Days Laterdirector Danny Boyle andscience fiction writer Alex Garlandrevealed they were seriously considering a return to the zombie franchise. Murphy was enthusiastic about potentially returning, stating that he would happily play Jim again under one condition. “I’m up for it. I’d love to do it,” Murphy stated toCollider, “If Alex [Garland] thinks there’s a script in it and Danny [Boyle} wants to do it, I’d love to do it."
Although28 Days Lateralready has a sequel – titled28 Weeks Later– Murphy’s character did not appear in it. The sequel also lacked involvement from Garland and Boyle, which might explain why28 Weeks Laterdid not make as big a splash as its predecessor. In particular, Garland expressed that he was not satisfied with how the story played out.28 Weeks Laterearned much less than the original, earning $65.8 million compared to28 Days Later’s $84.6 million. Fans initially expected a sequel titled28 Months Laterto follow, but the first sequel’s lesser performance delayed production.
Despite the lesser success of28 Weeks Later, there’s still a lot of excitement for another sequel, especially if Boyle, Garland, and Murphy reunited. Murphy even has an idea of when the sequel should take place. Since the movie finished shooting in 2000, Murphy thinks28 Years Lateris the best option. Murphy’s title also matches up with an idea Garland is reportedly developing with Boyle, though neither disclosed any specifics.
Although all parties involved are at least open to developing anew movie set in the fast-zombies universe, there have been no solid details of a potential28 Days Latersequel. However, fans have pointed out that28 Years Laterhas a perfect opportunity to play into its title and release in 2028.
