Cast your mind back to December 2024, and the release of the debut trailer for 28 Years Later. Fans thought they spotted Cillian Murphy, star of Danny Boyle’s 28 Days Later, briefly appear as an emaciated zombie in the promo.
A brief shot in the trailer shows an incredibly skinny zombie rising up from the ground. The Oppenheimer star was listed as executive producer of 28 Years Later, with one Sony executive teasing his appearance “in a surprising way and in a way that grows.” Murphy had hit the headlines for his punishing diet while playing Oppenheimer in Christopher Nolan’s billion dollar biopic, a role he lost significant weight for. So fans saw this zombie, whose face looked a bit like Murphy’s, and put two and two together. They weren’t the only ones — the press wondered if it was Murphy, too.
Soon after, it emerged this zombie wasn’t Murphy, but an art dealer that director Danny Boyle talent-spotted. According to The Guardian, the zombie in question, aka ‘Emaciated Infected,’ was played by a newcomer called Angus Neill. Neill is an art dealer and model who was cast by director Danny Boyle due to his distinctive looks, such as his 28-inch waist.
Fast forward to September 2025 and a new interview with Murphy by The Observer, and we finally have a response from the man himself. Perhaps unexpectedly, the “chronically offline” Murphy sounded non-plussed about the whole thing, although he did reveal that his son made sure he was aware of Emaciated Infected and the fact people thought it was him.
“That’s great people think I look like a zombie cadaver,” Murphy was quoted as saying, apparently dryly. “It’s very flattering.”
While Murphy wasn’t in 28 Years Later, he will star in its sequel, The Bone Temple, albeit in a minor role designed to set up a more significant involvement in the third movie in the planned trilogy. Murphy played bicycle courier Jim in 28 Days Later, so it will be interesting to see how the character ends up in 28 Years Later.
Murphy told The Observer he’s “only in it for a little bit,” and the third movie’s release depends upon the success of its predecessor. “Everyone’s got to go and see the second one,” he said. “I’m sure they will — it’s really, really good.”
Last week, we got the debut trailer for 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple, showing Ralph Fiennes’ Dr. Kelson struggling to survive in the post-apocalyptic sequel.
The trailer shows off a number of returning characters that pick up where the… eyebrow raising ending of 28 Years Later left off, and Dr. Kelson appears to have discovered someone (something?) who might change everything.
28 Years Later had a decent run at the box office, earning $150.4 million globally. And it saw positive reviews, too. IGN’s 28 Years Later review returned a 9/10. We said: “28 Years Later is as potent and timely an exploration of cultural strife as the original, and Danny Boyle and Alex Garland tug at the heartstrings with bloody, deadly skill.”
Wesley is Director, News at IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at [email protected] or confidentially at [email protected].
