Attack the Block director Joe Cornish has revealed that he’s discussed sequel ideas with John Boyega. The first movie, released in 2011, centred on a South Londoner – played by Boyega – who, along with his friends, fends off an alien invasion on Guy Fawkes Night.
“We’ve got ideas,” Cornish said on the Script Apart (opens in new tab) podcast. “I met with John a couple of months ago to talk about it. We’ve always had ideas after the first one. But obviously we’ve both been busy doing different things.” Cornish hinted that a sequel would likely touch on how much the world has shifted (or not) in the nearly ten years since the original film. “In a way, the longer you leave it, the more interesting it is… so that’s all I’ll say.”
Cornish also discussed how the Black Lives Matter movement and Boyega’s vocal involvement in it has reignited interest in the movie.
“The movie’s nearly ten years old now, and it’s trying to address issues that were fairly ingrained then, and have certainly stuck around. At the time when it came out, it put a lot of people’s backs up, because it has a very unusual protagonist and arc.” Cornish said. “It’s wonderful that people are revising the film,” he continued, adding that it’s a “moment forJohn, it’s a moment for hopefully some social change. To be a tiny little part of something that I hope is much, much bigger is exciting.
pic.twitter.com/Dq1Z0eqC7xJune 17, 2020
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Boyega took to Twitter to acknowledge sequel conversations, requesting “the whole of London for an army” for the sequel. When English YouTuber and urban explorer Harry “Night Scape” Gallagher Tweeted at Boyega asking if the sequel needs a “freerunner” (read, parkour kid), Boyega replied with “oh shit” and eyeball emoji. He also said he “wouldn’t imagine the movie” without Alex Esmail, who played Pest in the original film.
Safe to say we could all use some Attack the Block 2 in our lives. In other recent movie-related news, Hollywood rallied around John Boyega following his powerful Black Lives Matter protest speech. (opens in new tab)