A third film in the revived 28 Years Later series is moving closer in one important sense: Danny Boyle says there is a script by Alex Garland. He also expects Cillian Murphy to have a substantial role. Those are exciting details for fans of the original 28 Days Later, but they do not amount to a production schedule or a release date.
Speaking to Variety at the Zurich Film Festival, Boyle said the follow-up would be made because people keep asking for it, while adding that he did not know quite when. That distinction is the centre of the news. A script can be ready long before cameras roll; casting, financing, scheduling and distribution can still change. The interview did not announce that production has started.
Murphy's connection gives the update its emotional pull. His earlier appearance is part of why viewers remember the series so vividly, and Boyle's comments suggest the third film intends to make more of that link. Yet he did not outline the plot or explain how Murphy's character would be used. Anything more specific would be fan speculation, not a detail confirmed in this interview.
Boyle was in Zurich presenting Ink, a separate biographical drama, and the conversation wandered into James Bond as well. He praised Jack O'Connell, the lead of Ink, and suggested him as a possible Bond. That is Boyle's opinion, not a casting announcement from the Bond producers. He also spoke about his own past departure from a Bond project and expressed confidence in Denis Villeneuve's ability to handle the franchise.
The useful way to read the 28 Years update is therefore hopeful but precise. Garland has written a script, Boyle wants the film to happen and Murphy is expected to feature prominently. What remains unknown is when the project will be shot, when it will reach cinemas and whether any of today's plans will change on the way. For a series built on dread and anticipation, at least the waiting now has a clearer shape.
Source: [Variety's interview with Danny Boyle](https://au.variety.com/2026/film/news/danny-boyle-28-years-later-part-3-40861/).
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