The trailer for 28 Years Later may give us our first glimpse of Cillian Murphy and how his character Jim will appear in this belated sequel. Murphy played the main character Jim in 28 Days Later back in 2002, and he was confirmed to be reprising his role back in April when the main cast was announced. The trailer hints that Jim may not have gotten a happy ending, and his role in this story could be very bleak.
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Fair warning: there are possible spoilers ahead! 28 Days Later ended well for Jim and his friends. They found a secluded place to wait out the virus, and they seemed to have made contact with other survivors, prompting hope for the future. The infected seem to be dying of starvation, giving hope that the epidemic could be over. Of course, However, Jim did not appear in the sequel 28 Weeks Later, and anything could have happened to him in the 27 years, 11 months since we last saw him.
The first hint of Jimmy we see in the new trailer for 28 Years Later is at the 53-second mark. It shows the site of an old stone building with a Bible quote painted on it – “Behold, He is coming with the clouds.” In more jagged handwriting, someone has added the name “Jimmy,” so you might read the quote as: “Behold, Jimmy He is coming with the clouds.”
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The second clue is 1 minute, 48 seconds into the trailer. It shows an emaciated, shirtless man – presumably infected with the rage virus – standing up out of a field of yellow flowers. It’s a brief flash, but some fans think this person looks like Murphy. It could be that we learn Jimmy’s tragic fate simply by seeing him among the infected.
This all depends a lot on what has been happening in this world for the last three decades. At the end of 28 Weeks Later, it was indicated that the rage virus has spread to mainland Europe and has not been extinguished. However, the official synopsis for 28 Years Later says that “the rage virus has returned,” indicating that it may have been stopped for some time. We also see signs that characters are living in fortified communities and using makeshift weapons like bows and arrows, indicating that the industrialized world still is not back under their control. The recent history will give us some hints about what Jimmy may have been up to in the intervening years.
Meanwhile, we have to consider the future plans for the franchise. 28 Years Later is expected to kick off a new trilogy, with Murphy taking a lead role in 28 Years Later Part II: The Bone Temple. Of course, he could be appearing in flashbacks or in-world recordings, but he may also be needed alive for whatever comes next.
We’ll be able to find out for ourselves when 28 Years Later hits theaters on June 20, 2025. You can stream 28 Days Later now on Apple TV, and 28 Weeks Later on Hulu.
