The first trailer for the major new horror movie, 28 Years Later, has been unveiled and fans think they’ve spotted the original star of the series, Cillian Murphy, in a very unexpected role.

The Irish actor, who won Best Actor at this year’s Oscars for Oppenheimer, played the lead character, Jim, in the original film, 28 Days Later, which quickly became a cult hit when it was released in 2002.

The new film will see director Danny Boyle return to the series, something that he had hinted at in a 2019 interview with The Independent.

No prizes for guessing, but the new film takes place 28 years after the first outbreak of the Rage Virus and looks at how the survivors are coping in the infected post-apocalyptic landscape.

The new movie stars Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Jodie Comer and Ralph Fiennes and is written by Civil War and Ex Machina director Alex Garland.

Although Murphy told The Independent in 2023, that he would be keen on returning for the third film, the Peaky Blinders star is not listed as an official cast member in the promotional material but is an executive producer, as per Variety.

However, fans think they’ve spotted a clue to Murphy’s involvement in the film and it’s not looking too good for Jim. In one clip, a collection of dead zombies are propped up, like scarecrows, and one bears a striking resemblance to Murphy.

On X/Twitter, fans began to have some fun with the potential sighting of Murphy in the horror film.

One person joked: “Cillian Murphy stuns in first look at 28 Years Later.”

Another viewer hinted at potential disgruntlement about the casting: “If that really Cillian Murphy as Jim you know fans are going to be mad because they’ve been waiting years for him to come back and Cillian Murphy said he would love to come back.”

Others aren’t so sure. “You’re telling me Cillian Murphy who just won an Oscar is pretending to be a zombie in a film instead of just playing his character from the original, I don’t think so,” said one fan.

The film follows on from another sequel, 28 Weeks Later, which was released in 2007.

Unlike the very first film in the series, which had a modest budget of just £8m, the new sequels have a reported budget of £75m each.

28 Years Later will be released 20 June, 2025.