Original ending to 28 Days Later had tragic ending for Cillian Murphy’s character as he returns in trailer for sequel

With 28 Years Later seemingly bringing back Cillian Murphy’s Jim in the sequel, many fans will be scratching their head’s trying to remember what happened to his character in the original.

Keep in mind the fact that it came out 22 years ago and that the film isn’t available to watch anywhere on streaming, and it’s not a surprise that you won’t know what happened to Jim.

Added to that confusion is the fact that, not only did 28 Days Later originally have a completely different ending to the one shown in cinemas - but they actually shot it and all.

An important place now is probably to go back to the ending we saw in cinemas. After Christopher Eccleston shoots Murphy’s Jim after releasing an infected Private Mailer on the army, he is rushed away and survives.

He wakes up a further 28 days after the outbreak (taking us to 56 Days Later, which would be a much worse name for a sequel), and there is a great deal of hope as Jim, Selena (Naomie Harris) and Hannah (Megan Burns) unfurl a banner for help at a passing jet as the infected die around them due to starvation.

Cute, right?

In the original ending to the film, however, it was so much worse.

Cillian Murphy is set to return in 28 Years Later (Sony)

Originally, the film was going to end with Jim being rushed to a hospital and dying as a result of his gunshot.

Distraught at his death, Selena joins Hannah in walking away, leaving his body behind.

Bleak.

Not only was this the original ending in the script, but it was actually filmed and all, and can be watched in the DVD extras (if you can get your hands on one).

Another ending that was also filmed fits more in line with the theatrical ending - however, this time, it's just Selena and Hannah in the cottage as Jim has also died. The women then run out with the help banner to show to a passing plane.

There is also a third potential ending which is storyboarded, in which Brendan Gleeson’s Frank is not immediately killed after being infected.

Instead the gang find a scientist who agrees to cure him, but reveals there is only one way, a full body blood transfusion, which Murphy’s Jim agrees to.

You can see why this isn’t the one they went with, but it is by far the most depressing of the endings.

Supposedly, the original ending was deemed too sad by test audiences, however, Boyle confirmed in the DVD commentary that he changed the ending to keep Jim alive for a possible story continuation, according to ScreenRant.

The original ending has mixed reactions among those that have watched it.

One comment on Reddit about the ending said: “I like this ending more. The theatrical ending always seemed a little disjoint and tacked on.

“The whole movie is very stressful and bleak, then it ends with them just having a couple pints in a cottage until the whole thing blows over.”

Another, however, disagreed, saying: “The sad ending wouldn't work with that entire third act the way it was.

“The last part of the movie was basically Cillian Murphy sneaking around like Solid Snake, taking out soldiers, to be reunited with his love interest. A sad ending after that would be a bit disjointed.”

With 28 Years Later featuring a zombie Jim, maybe this is what we’re going to be getting as the canon ending? Maybe it was all a dream?

Or maybe I should shut up and wait until June 2025 when 28 Years Later comes out and we get an actual answer.