This article was originally published on FearHQ.com. Keep that site bookmarked for all the latest 28 Years Later updates.
Earlier today, Sony Pictures released the first trailer for 28 Years Later and horror fans seem to be in agreement that Danny Boyle is on track to deliver a worthy follow-up to 28 Days Later (while 28 Weeks Later received positive reviews, it never quite achieved the same cult classic status).
In the original movie, Jim, Selena, and Hannah seemingly manage to escape the UK and travel to Europe following a run-in with the villainous Major West and his men.
The movie had three alternate endings: in the first, Jim dies from a gunshot wound; in the second, the whole thing is revealed as a dream; and in the third, he manages to save Frank with a blood infusion after he was infected (in the theatrical cut, the soldiers kill him).
A tie-in comic, meanwhile, revealed that Jim, Selena, and Hannah make it to France and become known as the "Manchester Three." However, Jim is arrested for his role in West's death and scheduled to be executed by firing squad.
There was no sign of Jim in 28 Weeks Later and with Cillian Murphy attached to this movie as an executive producer, the expectation has been that he'll reprise the role as part of his and Boyle's return to the horror franchise.
Now, we have what many believe is a first look at Jim's return and it's not good news.
As you can see below, he now appears to be among the infected and one of the undead monsters that this movie's leads cross paths with (we're pretty sure that's Jodie Comer's character in the foreground). This is not the end for the character we'd hoped for, though his appearance may be little more than a nod to 28 Days Later rather than a significant plot point.
It's not exactly shocking that someone like Jim wouldn't get a happy ending and it's unclear whether Naomie Harris and Megan Burns will reprise their respective roles as Selena and Hannah.
Either way, he certainly doesn't look very alive in 28 Years Later if this is indeed Murphy as Jim...
In 28 Years Later, it's been almost three decades since the rage virus escaped a biological weapons laboratory, and now, still in a ruthlessly enforced quarantine, some have found ways to exist amidst the infected. One such group of survivors lives on a small island connected to the mainland by a single, heavily-defended causeway.
When one of the group leaves the island on a mission into the dark heart of the mainland, he discovers secrets, wonders, and horrors that have mutated not only the infected but other survivors as well.
Directed by Danny Boyle and written by Alex Garland, 28 Years Later is produced by Andrew Macdonald, Peter Rice, Bernard Bellew, Boyle, and Garland. Cillian Murphy executive produces. The movie's cast includes Jodie Comer, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Jack O'Connell, Alfie Williams, and Ralph Fiennes.
28 Years Later arrives in theaters on June 20, 2025.