The first trailer for Danny Boyle's 28 Years Later—the third film in the 28 Days Later franchise—dropped on YouTube on Tuesday, and immediately became the subject of memes. Despite the hype of this highly-anticipated film, fans are focusing on one aspect of the trailer: at 1:48, an emaciated figure can be seen rising from a flower bed.
The zombie bears a striking resemblance to Cillian Murphy's character Jim, the beloved protagonist from the original film, 28 Days Later.
Fans quickly began making memes from the multi-second clip, many of them reaction images poking fun at aging. On Dec. 11, 2024, The Guardian confirmed that the actor is not Cillian Murphy, though these memes continue to fuel speculation about Murphy's fate in the franchise and humorously riff on the character's ancient appearance.
The short answer is that we don't yet know; the zombie appears for two seconds in the trailer, with very little context. He can be seen rising in a meadow, between a seemingly battle-torn woman holding a baby, and the word "become," from the phrase intercut in the trailer, "Next summer, what will humanity become?"
Though Murphy has not appeared on any posters or promotional materials for the film which is set to be released on June 20, 2025, the actor is credited as an executive producer on the Sony Pictures website and has been photographed on the set of the film.
Additionally, the premise of the film supports the idea that the Zombie could be Murphy's character, Jim. In this iteration of the series, the infected are said to have "evolved" though promotional materials have not detailed how, or to what end.
On the morning of Dec. 11, 2024, a little more than 24 hours after the trailer was released, The Guardian confirmed that the zombie is not played by Cillian Murphy but by an actor named Angus Neill.
Minutes after the trailer was released, the internet began speculating about the character and the possibility of a Cillian Murphy cameo.
Simultaneously, memes began appearing on X as fans reacted to reporting on Cillian Murphy's potential return to the franchise. One of the first humorous memes was posted on Dec. 10, 2024, by @NahlmGhost, reacting to Pop Base's initial post with the same caption.
Some fans use the meme to communicate their deep betrayal by the film's creators in (allegedly) making the character of Jim into a zombie.
Others humorously riff on how old the zombie looks in the trailer.
28 Years Later is set for release by Sony Pictures in the United Kingdom, United States, and Canada on June 20, 2025.
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