28 Years Later III is 'moving forward with Cillian Murphy in talks to return'

28 Years Later III is reportedly moving forward after great responses to the second instalment.

Sony is said to be ready to start work on the third film in the new horror trilogy after fans reacted positively to preview screening's of upcoming sequel 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple.

According to Deadline, Alex Garland will return to write the third film, while 28 Days Later actor Cillian Murphy is in talks to return as Jim.

Murphy - who served as an executive producer on 28 Years Later and Bone Temple - is already poised for a comeback at the end of the second film, while he will have an expanded part on the third as yet untitled movie.

Sony had the option for the full trilogy, but waited to greenlight the third instalment.

Director Danny Boyle previously revealed Jim will have a much bigger part to play in the third and final entry in the 28 Years Later trilogy.

Speaking with Collider, the 68-year-old director said: “There’s a story arc across all three films. The principle of this is what we sold to Sony. And they immediately said, ‘Don’t say it’s a trilogy. We said, ‘No, we are going to say it’s a trilogy.’ Because it is! We’re not going to lie to people!

“Not all the characters run through all three films, but some of them do. There’s a character in this one, played by Ralph Fiennes, who is a massive part of the second film.

“Cillian Murphy is an element in the second film and a very dominant element in the third film.”

Boyle added he and scribe Alex Garland had written 28 Years Later to be a story that is “influenced” by 28 Days Later, though would not continue the plot elements introduced in the 2007 sequel 28 Weeks Later - which was directed by Juan Carlos Fresnadillo and saw the Rage Virus makes its way across the English Channel and begin to spread across Europe in the final scenes.

Boyle explained: “What Alex and I decided to do was make an original film. But it’s a story influenced by 28 Days Later.

“But it does not follow what happened in 28 Weeks Later, where the virus got into Europe. For story reasons, we suggested that Europe had driven the virus back across the channel. Then they could isolate the island of Britain and let it die out.”