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Topics: Celebrity, Cillian Murphy, TV and Film, 28 Years Later
Joe Harker
Topics: Celebrity, Cillian Murphy, TV and Film, 28 Years Later
Cillian Murphy has revealed which one of his movies he likes to rewatch, and it's good news for those hoping for a sequel.
After his turn in Oppenheimer Murphy is pretty much top of the world and before long he could walk away with an Oscar.
We'll have to wait and see on that front, but the Irish actor did recently reveal that while he doesn't watch his own movies back there is one he does keep returning to.
It's the zombie apocalypse film 28 Days Later, directed by Danny Boyle and starring Murphy in the leading role as Jim, a guy who wakes up from a coma in hospital after a catastrophic virus has devastated Britain.
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If you want to feel old, 28 Days Later released all the way back in 2002, but zombie fans have certainly not forgotten the film, and they're in for a particular treat.
Speaking to Variety recently about his film Small Things Like These, the conversation soon turned towards the sequels to 28 Days Later.
What we know about the movies thus far is that there are two zombie apocalypse sequels in the pipeline, one of which is currently referred to as 28 Years Later.
Danny Boyle had previously said a script had been finished and he'd like to return to direct the film, while Murphy has always been pretty clear that he'd be happy to do a sequel.
He said: "I can’t give much more at this point. But 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].
"I never watch my own films, except that one. It’s always on around Halloween and during the pandemic people were constantly sending me clips. And I’ve shown it to my kids.
"And it’s really stood up, even though it’s something like 23 years old now. So I’m really thrilled that we’ll get the band back together to make this one."
Last time we saw Jim was at the end of 28 Days Later having seemingly successfully signalled for help, so it looks like he got rescued.
However, the ending to the sequel movie 28 Weeks Later (which was written and directed by a different team) didn't feature him and instead showed the rage virus spreading further across the world as the infected rampaged across Paris.
We see neither the hide nor the hair of Jim in the sequel; but crucially, in 28 Days Later, he gets out of London and that hopefully means he survived the resurgence of the rage virus, paving the way for a possible return.
Funnily enough, Jim wasn't even supposed to survive 28 Days Later as at the end of the movie he technically dies of a gunshot wound, though Selena (Naomie Harris) is able to revive him.
There were a total of three alternative endings to the movie, one of which was filmed where Jim dies of his wounds and Selena can't revive him.
Of the other two ideas, one is where the zombie apocalypse turns out to have been a dream, while the other one has Jim going through a blood transfusion to save Frank (Brendan Gleeson) who in this ending would have been captured after being infected rather than shot dead by the soldiers.