Cillian Murphy returns as zombie in 28 Years Later trailer leaving people shocked

Set almost three decades into a dystopian Britain plagued by a flesh eating virus, Cillian Murphy will finally return to our screens in the franchise 'that changed everything' for him.

Despite having featured in a handful of films prior to the 2002 zombie epic 28 Days Later, Murphy's starring role as Jim, a bicycle courier who wakes from a coma to find the UK had been ravaged by zombies, proved to be the making of him as an actor.

His career snowballed from then and he notably won an Oscar earlier this year for best performance from an actor in leading role for his part in Oppenheimer.

Speaking about the possibility of completing the trilogy for the 28 film franchise, in February Murphy told Variety: "I've always said I would love to be involved because that movie changed everything for me and I have great affection for it and for those guys Alex [Garland], and Danny [Boyle]."

That dream has now become a reality following the trailer of 28 Years Later having been released this morning (December 10), with confirmation that Alex Garland and Danny Boyle co-wrote the new film, with the latter also directing it.

On December 6, Sony Pictures uploaded a poster to its Instagram account of the film which included the writing 'time didn't heal anything'.

Many people believe Cillian Murphy will return to the '28' film franchise as a zombie (Sony Pictures Entertainment)

At the end of the first film, the only one to feature Murphy, shows his character Jim, alongside Naomie Harris as Selena and Hannah, played by Megan Banks, seemingly get rescued by the RAF (Royal Air Force) as a plane flies over them while they unfurl a huge banner that read 'HELLO'.

But if the trailer to 28 Years Later is anything to go by, things didn't go as swimmingly for Jim as we had hoped.

It has been confirmed that Murphy will reprise his role as Jim in the film, but with it now starring Aaron Taylor-Johnson and Jodie Comer, as well as Ralph Fiennes, there may not have been enough room for a live-and-well Murphy.

Instead, he appears to have returned as a Zombie.

Taking to Reddit fans were shocked by his undead appearance in the trailer. One user posted: "Omg zombie Cillian Murphy!"

"The one second shot of Cillian Murphy is giving me a bone deep sense of terror," a second typed.

Cillian Murphy will return to our screens as Jim but maybe not how we remember him (Fox Searchlight Pictures)

"Seeing the 'hero' end up like that makes it feel more 'real' than a movie should have any right to lol."

While a third added: "It's almost like a greatest hits collection of the last two movies.

"Zombies in the church, the wave coming over the hill, the tunnel fight in the dark.

"And was that Cillian Murphy at 1:47?!"

A fourth penned: "We already know Cillian has a small part in this one, and a much bigger role in part 2. I'm guessing it's not a spoiler at all, we just don't have the proper context for it."

Fiennes has previously stated that the film will be a trilogy in itself, with two of them having already been shot - 28 Years Later, and 28 Years Later Part II: The Bone Temple.

The release date for 28 Days Later is June 20, 2025.