Cillian Murphy goes viral for hilarious response to 28 Years Later zombie rumors

Academy Award-winning actor Cillian Murphy opened up about the fan theory that circulated prior to the release of the June 20, 2025, zombie film 28 Years Later, about him making an appearance as one of the undeads, during an interview with The Observer published on September 6, 2025. 

Murphy got his Hollywood breakthrough in the 2002 original film 28 Days Later. When the trailer of the third istallment of the franchise was released, fans expected the actor to make a comeback. Many believed that an emaciated zombie is actually Cilian’s character. However, that has not been the case, and the film makes it sufficiently clear that it is just another zombie. 

Murphy told the publication that his kid made sure to let him known about the online chatter and that people believe the zombie bears close resemblance to him.

“That’s great people think I look like a zombie cadaver,” the actor joked. “It’s very flattering.” 

Although Murphy did not feature in 28 Years Later, he was an executive producer in the film. and will play a supporting part in Nia DeCosta's next film in the series, 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple. Additionally, he will return for a more significant role in the third, as-yet-untitled, installment of the sequel trilogy.

Netizens are seemingly amused by Cilian’s take on the subject, with the account
@CyperX01 writing on X:

“Cillian Murphy taking zombie vibes in stride, love how he just rolls with it.”

Exploring the plot of 28 Years Later

28 Years Later is the third instalment in the 28 Days Later franchise, set 28 years after the original outbreak. The story centers on Spike, a 12-year-old boy living on Lindisfarne, an isolated island shielded from the infected by high tides. His father, Jamie, initiates Spike’s coming-of-age with a ritual hunt. 

When Spike sees a distant fire on the mainland, his curiosity leads him, along with his ailing mother Isla, to venture off the island in search of a cure. They encounter terrifying evolved infected variants—slow, bloated “Slow Lows” and deadly, intelligent “Alphas.” A compassionate but eccentric doctor named Ian Kelson aids Isla, confirming she is terminally ill. 

He grants her a peaceful end and immortalizes the fallen in a haunting "bone temple" of skulls. Isla’s baby, born uninfected, is left with the islanders.

Grieving and alone, Spike embarks further into the wasteland, where he is ambushed by strange cultists known as the “Jimmies,” led by Sir Jimmy Crystal. They save him in acrobatic fashion and invite him to join them. The film's blend of emotional depth, unique horror, and symbolic visual storytelling earned it acclaim and set the stage for the sequel, The Bone Temple.

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