Posted in: Movies, Sony | Tagged: 28 years later, cillian murphy

28 Years Later: Sony Chairman Confirms Cillain Murphy's Return

Sony Chairman Tom Rothman has confirmed Cillian Murphy is returning for 28 Years Later and has said the film is "not in any way a literal sequel."

28 Years Later got a release date the other day, which means things are moving along quite nicely behind the scenes. There have been some casting announcements: the director and writer are returning for movie one, and there is a reported director for movie two, but Cillian Murphy's role in all of this has been a bit more up in the air. We know that he would be an executive producer on the film, and his character didn't return for the sequel 28 Weeks Later, so it was unclear if Murphy would be returning to an acting role for this film. It turns out he will, and we will see something special from director Danny Boyle. Sony Motion Pictures Group chairman Tom Rothman recently spoke to Deadline, and when asked if Murphy was returning for 28 Years Later, he confirmed that he is and that this will be Boyle at his best.

"Yes, but in a surprising way and in a way that grows, let me put it that way," Rothman explained. "This is Danny [Boyle] at his best, combined with a very commercial genre, like we had with Edgar Wright and Baby Driver. Sometimes, when you put a real signature director into a commercial arena, it elevates it."

When Rothman started to describe 28 Years Later, even though the title may show linear progression, that isn't quite what we'll be getting here. Roth explained, "…we have his new 28 Days trilogy. It's 28 Years Later, but not in any way a literal sequel." So that's interesting, to say the least. He also confirmed at least two casting announcements we've seen so far, Jodie Comer and Aaron Taylor-Johnson, but nothing definitive on anyone else yet. Rothman explained he had personally made eight films with Boyle, and "I hold him in the Pantheon." So, it sounds like everyone is excited about these three new movies that Boyle, Alex Garland, and the rest of the team are working on.

28 Years Later Spent Over A Decade In Development Hell

The zombie genre is constantly evolving with the times, and how we see the living dead often correlates with how we see the world. One of the big ways that the genre changed was back in 2003 with 28 Days Later by director Danny Boyle and writer Alex Garland. Instead of the slow-moving monsters that were creeping up on you, these zombies were fast, and they weren't afraid to get their sprint on. The film was a game-changer in terms of the genre and was critically acclaimed. The box office didn't light the world on fire; it made just under $85 million, but on a budget of just $8 million, those are some solid returns. A sequel was released, 28 Weeks Later, in 2007, but it did not do well commercially or critically and only featured Boyle and Garland as producers.

Since then, there have been ongoing rumors and speculation that another film, usually called 28 Months Later, could be in the making. However, time stops for no one, and "months" doesn't really apply when it's been a decade and a half. It was announced in January that 28 Years Later was in the works, with Danny Boyle directing and Alex Garland writing, with Nia DaCosta taking over directing the second film. The deal was set to include multiple movies and kick off a trilogy. 28 Years Later will be released on 20, 2025. Jodie Comer, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Ralph Fiennes, and Jack O'Connell joined the cast.

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