Cillian Murphy is officially in talks to return for the third film in the “28 Years Later” trilogy with Alex Garland writing the script…
Oscar winner Cillian Murphy is officially in talks to return for a starring role in the third “28 Years Later” film with Alex Garland penning the script and hopes that Danny Boyle returns to direct.
Murphy largely became a star following his breakout role in “28 Days Later,” the original film from Boyle and Garland that centered around a rage virus infecting the population of England and turning the entire country into an apocalyptic wasteland where survival is far from guaranteed.
Boyle and Garland returned to make “28 Years Later,” which earned over $151 million at the box office, after Sony won the rights to revive the horror franchise. Sony initially ordered two films with “28 Years Later” and its sequel “28 Years Later: The Bone Temple” shooting back-to-back with Boyle directing the first film and “Candyman” filmmaker Nia DaCosta directing the sequel, which is due out on January 16.
Murphy has served as a producer on both of those films.
Initial reactions from audiences who have seen “28 Years Later: The Bone Temple” have been overwhelmingly positive, which has Sony ready to pull the trigger on a third film in the series.
In the original, Murphy played Jim — a bicycle courier, who gets into an accident and ends up comatose when the rage virus erupts and infects millions in England. After waking up, Jim finds himself alone and running for his life after realizing the world has changed forever.
While there was a sequel “28 Weeks Later,” the latest series of films effectively ignores that movie and instead “28 Years Later” serves as a somewhat direct sequel to the original “28 Days Later.” The new film “28 Years Later: The Bone Temple” follows the events of “28 Years Later” with Ralph Fiennes reprising his role as well as Jack O’Connell taking center stage after making a brief appearance in “28 Years Later.”
There’s no word on how quickly Sony might move on the new “28 Years Later” sequel but with Murphy in talks to return, it seems the studio is serious about concluding the trilogy, which was always the intention Boyle and Garland had when returning to the horror franchise.
H/T: Deadline
