Danny Boyle ignored warning about putting Cillian Murphy lookalike in 28 Years Later trailer

Director Danny Boyle ignored his girlfriend's warning when he put a Cillian Murphy lookalike in the trailer for 28 Years Later.

The Oscar-winning actor starred in 2002's 28 Days Later as Jim, a courier who wakes up from a coma to discover the world has been taken over by a rage virus.

The trailer for the upcoming sequel, 28 Years Later, went viral last year when an emaciated zombie-like person appeared looking a lot like the Peaky Blinders star, leaving many shocked that Jim had been infected.

However, it has now been revealed that Murphy won't be in the film at all and the lookalike was simply an extra named Angus Neill.

In an interview with Empire, Boyle admitted that his girlfriend warned him of the confusion.

"I showed my girlfriend the trailer and she said, 'People will think that's Cillian,'" the director recalled. "I said, 'Don't be silly.' I ignored her. So I've eaten a bit of humble pie since."

Producer Andrew Macdonald explained to the magazine that the Oppenheimer star isn't in the first film but he may appear in later instalments in the upcoming trilogy.

"We wanted him to be involved and he wanted to be involved. He is not in the first film, but I'm hoping there will be some Jim somewhere along the line," Macdonald stated. "He's involved at the moment as an executive producer and I would hope we can work with him in some way in the future in the trilogy."

28 Years Later, which will be released in June, stars Jodie Comer, Aaron Taylor-Johnson and Ralph Fiennes. It was filmed back-to-back with the sequel, 28 Days Later: The Bone Temple, which was directed by Nia DaCosta.