28 Days Later protagonist Jim (Cillian Murphy) didn't return for the sequel, but official tie-in material reveals what happened to the character. Director Danny Boyle's 2002 hit about an outbreak of the Rage Virus in Great Britain essentially breathed new life into the zombie genre, despite not really being a zombie movie, as its infected weren't actually the reanimated dead. Still, if it looks like a zombie movie, and acts like a zombie movie, it's probably a zombie movie, hair-splitting aside.
Like the classic George A. Romero zombie films made before it though, 28 Days Later would spawn a sequel without any returning characters. Just as how Romero's movies ended up offering fans a look at different stages in the zombie uprising, 28 Weeks Later would let audiences see a later point in the story in which NATO thinks they've gotten the Rage Virus under control in London. Of course, it wouldn't be much of a movie if they had, and things quickly spiral into chaos.
However, what became of 28 Days Later's three survivors, Jim, Selena (Naomie Harris) and Hannah (Megan Burns) is never addressed in 28 Weeks Later. It turns out that fans can learn what happened to Jim if they're inclined to look toward a comic book series that expands on the franchise. Sadly, they may be happier not knowing the answer.
28 Days Later: What Happened to Cillian Murphy's Character
28 Days Later ends with Jim, Selena, and Hannah taking refuge at a remote cottage, Jim having recovered from his gunshot wound. The three spell out HELLO from the ground to try and catch the attention of a passing plane, but it's unclear if they'll be rescued or not. In the 28 Days Later comic book series, published by BOOM! Studios from 2009 to 2011, it's revealed that the plane did in fact see the trio, and took them back to safety in the rest of Europe. However, that safety would only be temporary for Jim.
The trio was dubbed the Manchester Three, based on where they ended up, and became famous due to being the first survivors rescued from Great Britain after the outbreak took hold. This fame didn't stop Jim from being punished for the deaths he caused while liberating Selena and Hannah from Major Henry West (Christopher Eccleston) and his malevolent group of soldiers at Worsley House. While Jim's violent actions were the direct result of him being marked for death by the military men, and the soldiers also attempting to rape his friends, apparently that didn't matter to the authorities, as Jim was arrested and sentenced to death by firing squad. It's a devastating ending for Cillian Murphy's character, and cancels out much of the hope found in 28 Days Later's onscreen conclusion.