'Hope So!' — 28 Days Later Star Cillian Murphy Says He's 'Ready' to Return for Franchise's Planned Fifth Film, Despite Bone Temple Box Office Flop
· IGN
Cillian Murphy remains keen to make another movie in the 28 Days Later franchise, despite its latest entry ending up as a box office bomb.
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28 Years Later: The Bone Temple, in which Murphy only has a cameo, launched in January — just seven months after last year's 28 Years Later. Series creator Danny Boyle planned the two movies as the beginning of a fresh trilogy for the franchise, though its financial performance has left its future somewhat unclear.
While last year's 28 Years Later performed well in theaters, The Bone Temple did not. Despite positive reviews, it failed to earn back its $63 million production budget, let alone the further costs spent on its marketing.
Will the series' last film still be made? Murphy himself has previously stated that it would only be greenlit if the second was successful, though it was reported in December last year that Sony Pictures had given the third entry a green light. Since then, nothing has been said — but in a new interview with The Times, the actor struck a more upbeat tone.
"Hope so!" Murphy said, when asked for an update on the movie, which is believed to still be in the planning stages. "I'm ready anyway," he concluded.
Cillian starred in the original 28 Days Later back in 2003, though did not return for its 2007 sequel 28 Weeks Later, or last year's follow-up 28 Years Later. Fans of the franchise finally caught a glimpse of him once again at the end of 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple, reintroducing him to the series' story in advance of a planned starring role in its sixth entry.
Next up for Murphy is this week's return of Peaky Blinders, this time on the big screen, in Netflix movie Peaky Blinders: The Immortal Man. Murphy will not, however, be taking on the role of Voldemort in HBO's Harry Potter TV series — despite various rumors to the contrary. "I'm categorically not," Murphy told The Times.
Image credit: Jacob King/PA Images via Getty Images.
Tom Phillips is IGN's News Editor. You can reach Tom at [email protected] or find him on Bluesky @tomphillipseg.bsky.social