28 Years Later trailer shocks fans with 'unrecognisable' star: 'Not healthy'

Seventeen years after the release of 28 Weeks Later, the sequel to 28 Days Later, fans are finally getting a glimpse of the third film in the series, 28 Years Later. The original film starred Cillian Murphy as the film's lead, Jim, who wakes from a coma 28 days after an aggression-inducing virus called the 'rage virus' took over London and began turning people into zombies.

Cillian's name doesn't appear in the cast list for 28 Years Later, though he does serve as an executive producer of the film. And while he didn't feature in the sequel, it seems Cillian may still appear in the third movie, but things don't look too great for ole Jim.

The blink-and-you'll-miss-it moment in 28 Years Later trailer

In a blink-and-you'll-miss-it moment, Cillian appears towards the end of the trailer looking severely emaciated after perhaps turning into a zombie himself.

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The film is being directed by Danny Boyle and written by Alex Garland, both of whom worked on the first movie in the franchise, and it is believed they will look more into how humanity has evolved 28 years after the outbreak.

From the trailer, we can see the survivors living in the wilderness and seemingly having to fend off hordes of the infected constantly.

The cast of 28 Years Later is particularly star-studded, with Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Jodie Comer and Ralph Fiennes. Given Cillian hasn't been listed beyond his executive producer role, it feels like his zombie cameo may just be an Easter egg for diehard fans of the original film.

28 Days Later fans react to Cillian Murphy's appearance in 28 Years Later trailer

The reactions to Cillian's brief appearance on X did not disappoint, with many shocked by his skeletal frame and "unrecognisable" appearance.

Pop Base jokingly tweeted, "Cillian Murphy stuns in first look at 28 Years Later," alongside a photo of the actor.

Fans were shocked by the photo, but one user joked, "Oh, he hasn't aged a day."

"Cillian Murphy is taking method acting to a whole new level," another quipped.

"Even his corpse looks sexy," a third wrote.

"He looks unrecognisable," someone else said, while one person added, "This transformation looks scary to me."

"Crazy how much our actors put their bodies through for us," another joked.

"I feel like this is a spoiler," one fan wrote.

"This is not healthy at all..." another added.

Others wrote that he was "giving us pure skeleton vibes", and that they couldn't "believe it" and that he looked "insane".

Many others joked that he was just dehydrated, and one person went so far as to say he doesn't look "that different".

Elsewhere in the trailer, we see graffiti which is signed off by 'Jimmy', which could be what Jim is now going as.

According to Cinema Blend, it's possible Cillian's character is still alive and not a zombie, but has "mutated into a feral warlord". They add that he may be providing a "scarecrow-style diversion" as the infected don't move as slowly, or at all, when they get to that level of decay Jim appears to be at.

Only time will tell, I guess!

What is 28 Years Later about?

28 Years Later is set to be the first in a new trilogy of films, with Ralph Fiennes telling IndieWire, "It’s three films, of which two have been shot. Britain is 28 years into this terrible plague of infected people who are violent, rabid humans with a few pockets of uninfected communities.

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“It centres on a young boy who wants to find a doctor to help his dying mother. He leads his mother through this beautiful northern English terrain. But of course, around them, hiding in forests and hills and woods, are the infected.

"But he finds a doctor who is a man we might think is going to be weird and odd but actually is a force for good."

28 Years Later is set to be released in cinemas on June 20, 2025.

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