’28 Years Later: The Bone Temple’s Nia DaCosta Teases Cillian Murphy’s Role: “So. F*cking. Surreal”
We have known for some time that 28 Days Later star and Oscar-winner Cillian Murphy would play a role in the new 28 Years Later trilogy. However, while we’ve known we’d eventually be reunited with his character, Jim, the everyman bicycle courier who fights to survive the rage-fueled zombie apocalypse in Danny Boyle’s first outing, there have been some conflicting reports regarding when and how prominent his part will be. Well, now we finally know.
In a new interview with Empire, 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple director Nia DaCosta reveals that, not only will Cillian Murphy’s Jim play a role in next month’s sequel, but that it was “surreal” to work with the acclaimed Oppenheimer actor.
“So. F*cking. Surreal. I used to watch this man in a movie that was so important to me. And now he’s here in front of me, and I’m directing him. And he’s asking me what I thought of a take. And he just won an Oscar? What the hell’s going on?”
While the nature of Murphy’s role in The Bone Temple remains a mystery (hopefully it stays that way until the movie is released), it’s gratifying to hear from director Nia DaCosta’s own lips (or read it, as is the case here) that Jim will indeed feature in the upcoming sequel. The filmmaker continued, revealing once again what a huge fan she is of the original 28 Days Later…
“I just thought it was the best thing I’d ever seen. I watched it over and over again. I was so obsessed with being in that world, with those characters — having a big old crush on Cillian Murphy, wanting to be Naomie Harris.”
’28 Years Later 3′ Is “Really F*cking Good,” Says Nia Dacosta
Sony Pictures
Directed by Nia DaCosta, written by Alex Garland, and starring Ralph Fiennes, Jack O’Connell, Alfie Williams, Erin Kellyman, and Chi Lewis-Parry, 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple is due to debut in theaters on 16 January 2026, with a third and final outing already in development. It’s been revealed previously that Cillian Murphy will play a bigger role in the third 28 Years Later installment, and this is something that Nia DaCosta also confirmed.
“I know some stuff,” she said of what’s being planned as the final chapter. “It’s gonna be really f*cking good.”
28 Years Later: The Bone Temple will pick up following the events of this year’s 28 Years Later, following 12-year-old Spike (Alfie Williams) as he falls under the spell of Jack O’Connell’s mysterious villain Sir Lord Jimmy Crystal. The first reactions to The Bone Temple have now emerged, with critics calling it “brutal” and warning that audiences will be “shocked by how weird it gets.”
Expanding upon the world created by Danny Boyle and Alex Garland in 28 Years Later — but turning that world on its head — Nia DaCosta directs 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple. In a continuation of the epic story, Dr. Kelson (Ralph Fiennes) finds himself in a shocking new relationship — with consequences that could change the world as they know it — and Spike’s (Alfie Williams) encounter with Jimmy Crystal (Jack O’Connell) becomes a nightmare he can’t escape. In the world of The Bone Temple, the infected are no longer the greatest threat to survival — the inhumanity of the survivors can be stranger and more terrifying.
Release Date
January 16, 2026
Director
Nia DaCosta
