“28 Years Later” Trailer Teases Zombified Cillian Murphy as Post-Apocalyptic Film Asks 'What Will Humanity Become?'

The first teaser trailer is out for 28 Years Later, the third installment in Oscar-winning director Danny Boyle and writer Alex Garland's 28 Days Later franchise. And it just might show the outcome of Cillian Murphy's character Jim.

Asking the question "What will humanity become?," the post-apocalyptic horror film picks up nearly three decades after the onslaught of an rage-inducing virus that led to the breakdown of society following its escape from a biological weapons laboratory.

Audiences first saw the chaos in 2002's 28 Days Later, which starred Murphy as a bicycle courier who awakens from a coma amid the outbreak. Juan Carlos Fersnadillo’s 2007 sequel 28 Weeks Later captured the efforts of NATO military forces as they attempted to salvage a safe zone in London from the virus.

Murphy's Jim was missing from the sequel, but has been reported to appear in 28 Years Later despite his name not appearing on the official cast release. The Oscar winner is even serving as an executive producer on the film.

But viewers won't see Murphy in the trailer — except, perhaps, in a quick shot of a zombie that bares a striking resemblance to the Irish star.

Could that be Jim? Fans will have to wait until the film's June 2025 release to see for sure, though online chatter seems to be abuzz with speculation.

That buzz has also included praise for the suspenseful trailer itself, which does a great job of setting the tone for the film without giving away too much plot. All is set to a haunting recording of Rudyard Kipling’s war poem "Boots" by former silent film star Taylor Holmes, a choice that no doubt ups the ante when it comes to fear factor.

Franchise newcomers Jodie Comer, Aaron Taylor-Johnson and Ralph Fiennes star in 28 Years Later, the trio fighting their way through the fright to ensure their future. The trailer opens on the outbreak as it "began 10,228 days ago," and shows, subsequently, that no matter how long has gone by, the threat of the rage virus remains.

In fact, the tagline for 28 Years Later warns: "Time didn't heal anything."

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28 Years Later is the first part in a new trilogy of films in the franchise. 28 Years Later II: The Bone Temple, a direct sequel, has already been shot, with director Nia DaCosta at the helm. No release date has been announced.

As for who Comer, Taylor-Johnson and Fiennes will be playing in the first film, their roles still remain a bit of a mystery.

An official synopsis for the films reads: “It’s been almost three decades since the rage virus escaped a biological weapons laboratory, and now, still in a ruthlessly enforced quarantine, some have found ways to exist amidst the infected. One such group of survivors lives on a small island connected to the mainland by a single, heavily-defended causeway. When one of the group leaves the island on a mission into the dark heart of the mainland, he discovers secrets, wonders and horrors that have mutated not only the infected but other survivors as well.”

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In May, Comer, 31, said the storyline for the long-awaited sequel is "emotional."

"I remember seeing 28 Days Later and I was so struck with how it was so rooted in reality, and it was more about the exploration of us as a species and our behavior and how we react," the Killing Eve star told Total Film. "It felt like there was a lot of emotional truth within the film that really anchored it. That's also what I felt when I read this script."

28 Years Later is in theaters June 20.

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