The 2003 film starred Murphy as Jim, a bicycle carrier who wakes up from a coma after the outbreak begins. He wasn’t in 28 Weeks Later, but Sony Motion Pictures chairman Tim Rothman confirmed to Deadline in May 2024 that his character will return to 28 Years Later in “a surprising way and in a way that grows.”

28 Days Later was one of Murphy’s breakout roles back in 2002. He played Jim, a bicycle courier who woke from a coma to find himself in a post-apocalyptic London after an aggression-inducing virus led to the breakdown of society. Murphy didn't return for 2007's 28 Weeks Later, which followed a different cast of characters.