Cillian Murphy Just Reignited 28 Years Later 3 Hype After Troubling Report

28 Years Later 3 isn’t dead in the water after all. Cillian Murphy just gave the kind of update fans wanted to hear: not a done deal, but not drifting either.

So, where are we?

Murphy, doing press for his upcoming film Peaky Blinders: The Immortal Man, said the third chapter is still being planned. Asked point-blank if it’s likely to happen, he answered: "Hope so! I’m ready anyway."

Translation: the wheels are turning, even if the studio hasn’t planted a flag on a start date.

Why the slowdown?

The third entry was given the go-ahead before 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple opened in theaters. Then Bone Temple landed to strong reviews but soft box office, pulling in a little over $57 million worldwide on a reported $63 million budget. Since that release, the studio behind the new trilogy hasn’t laid out next steps in public.

At one point, there was chatter that Netflix kicked the tires on picking up the finale. That didn’t progress, largely because director Danny Boyle was said to prefer a theatrical rollout for the last film. Old-school move in a streaming-first world, but it tracks with how this series started.

What it means right now

• The third film is in the planning phase.
• Cillian Murphy says he’s ready to return: "Hope so! I’m ready anyway."
• 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple earned just over $57 million worldwide on a reported $63 million budget, despite positive reviews.
• Netflix showed interest at one stage, but the team favored a theatrical release.
• No production date yet from the studio.

The bottom line

Murphy’s optimism nudges the needle back toward hopeful after months of industry murmurs and box office math. Danny Boyle and Alex Garland’s new trilogy clearly still has a pulse; we’re just waiting for the studio to call the shot. I’ll take Murphy’s confidence over radio silence any day, but the real news will be a greenlight with cameras and a calendar.