Danny Boyle promises: “28 Years Later 3” will get made — “a lot of Cillian Murphy” in Alex Garland’s “very good” script

Danny Boyle has no intention of closing the chapter of the infection. At the Zurich Film Festival (22nd edition), where he was presenting his new film “Ink” — the biographical drama about Rupert Murdoch with Guy Pearce in the lead role — the director confirmed that the third film of the “28 Years Later” trilogy will get made, according to Empire, which refers to Variety’s reporting.

“28 Years 3, or whatever it will eventually be called, will get made, because people keep asking about it. Exactly when, I am not sure, but there is a script – a very good script by Alex Garland,” Boyle said in Zurich.

The best news for fans: Cillian Murphy’s Jim, who appeared only briefly at the end of “The Bone Temple”, will have a central role. “There will be a lot of Cillian Murphy in it,” promised Boyle, who also joked about Murphy’s famous nude scene in “28 Days Later” (2002): “I don’t know if he will take his clothes off again. He has won the Oscar already.”

Boyle’s confirmation comes after months of uncertainty. Sony shot the first two films back-to-back: “28 Years Later” (summer 2026) opened with 30 million dollars on June 20 and grossed around 151 million dollars worldwide, while Nia DaCosta’s “28 Years Later: The Bone Temple” (January 2026) was welcomed by critics — 92% on Rotten Tomatoes — but grossed only around 58.5 million dollars against a budget of 63 million dollars. The narrow balance of “Bone Temple” raised doubts that Sony would cancel the third part, as ComingSoon also notes.

Boyle has planned to direct the third film himself, but Sony has still not officially given the green light.

On the margins of the festival, the director also gave his full backing to Jack O’Connell as the new James Bond, pending the decision of Denis Villeneuve and Amazon MGM Studios: “They should choose Jack O’Connell as Bond,” he said.