Danny Boyle Officially Confirms Cillian Murphy’s Major ‘28 Years Later Part 3’ Return

After winning the Oscar in 2024 for his performance in Oppenheimer, the last few years have been relatively quiet for Cillian Murphy, who hasn’t followed his Academy Award win with another smash box office hit yet. This has always been the trajectory of Murphy’s career, though, as he prefers to stay out of the spotlight both in his professional and private life. Murphy’s first film after Oppenheimer was Small Things Like These, which he followed last year with Steve, the Netflix original drama that earned millions of views on streaming. Earlier this year, he did return as Tommy Shelby for a Peaky Blinders movie, The Immortal Man, but it wasn’t the most shocking role return for him. Murphy briefly reprised his role as Jim in 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple, showing that he’s survived all this time and even has a daughter.

28 Years Later and 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple were shot back to back, which is why the movies were able to release within a year of each other. However, the third installment that’s been confirmed has not yet been filmed, and it’s still without an official release date. During a recent interview to promote his new movie, Ink, though, writer/director Danny Boyle addressed the status of the third 28 Years Later movie, saying: “28 Years Later 3, or whatever it ends up being called, will get made, because people keep asking about it. Quite when, I’m not sure, but there’s a script, a very good script by Alex Garland.” He also confirmed that “It will have a lot of Cillian Murphy in it. Whether he’ll take his kit off anymore, that I don’t know. He’s got the Oscar now.”

Cillian Murphy Is Ripped for ‘28 Years Later 3’

+3

Continuing in his interview, Boyle even admitted that he was surprised by Murphy’s striking physique. Murphy has also been hard at work this year filming A Quiet Place Part III, so it’s important he stays in tip-top shape to run away from post-apocalyptic creatures. “He’s gorgeous,” Boyle said. “When we took his kit off, I couldn’t believe it. He looked like Iggy Pop! Everything was glistening. Oh my God. He’s just one of those people. He doesn’t work out or anything like that; he just looks like that.” While it’s still unclear when 28 Years Later 3 will be released in theaters, fans should view Boyle’s comments with cautious optimism, even after The Bone Temple’s box office struggles.