Cillian Murphy to Star in and Produce Mining Drama Blood Runs Coal Following Oscars Win

It’s been a huge year for Cillian Murphy who won the Academy Award for Best Actor earlier this month for his portrayal of J. Robert Oppenheimer in Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer. Murphy’s career began in the late 1990s, and he’s acquired 60 acting credits over the last couple of decades. Some of the actor’s most notable works include 28 Days Later, Batman Begins, Sunshine, Inception, Peaky Blinders, and more. Fans of the actor have been waiting to find out what he’ll be doing next, and it looks like another historical drama is on the horizon.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, Muprhy is set to star in Blood Runs Coal, a new project from Universal. The film is based on Mark A. Bradley’s book, Blood Runs Coal: The Yablonski Murders and the Battle for the United Mine Workers of America. The book chronicles the murder of Joseph “Jock” Yablonski, a mining union organizer who was killed at home with his wife and daughter in 1969. The killings “followed Yablonski campaigning against a corrupt union leader, and sparked a lengthy investigation that unveiled shady dealings within the coal industry.”

Edge of Tomorrow‘s Jez Butterworth and John-Henry Butterworth are signed on to adapt the script. Murphy is producing the project with Alan Moloney via Big Things Films while John Davis and Jordan Davis will produce via Davis Entertainment, and Bradley will serve as an executive producer. At the time of this writing, the project does not have a director attached. 

Is Cillian Murphy in 28 Years Later?

It was previously announced that Sony would be releasing 28 Years Later, another follow-up to 2002’s 28 Days Later with director Danny Boyle and writer Alex Garland coming back to helm and write the sequel. It was also confirmed that Murphy will be involved with the project. The actor is returning in an executive producer capacity, but the initial report indicated that he could also return to act in the film. When he was specifically asked if he could come back for another movie, Murphy replied, “I’m available.”

“A few years ago, an idea materialized in my head for would be really 28 Years Later,” Garland previously explained. “Danny always liked the idea. So, we’re talking about it quite seriously, quite diligently. If He doesn’t want to direct it himself, I’ll be well up for it if we can execute a similarly good idea.”

Stay tuned for more updates about Cillian Murphy’s upcoming projects.