An ‘Attack the Block’ Sequel Was Recently Discussed By Director Joe Cornish and John Boyega
John Boyega may best be known for his role as a defected Stormtrooper turned Resistance hero in the most recent Star Wars trilogy, but back in 2011, his career was just taking off with a breakthrough performance in the sci-fi action comedy Attack the Block. Directed by Joe Cornish, the movie saw Boyega playing the leader of a teen gang in South London who have to protect their block from an alien invasion. Ever since the movie was released, fans have wanted to see an Attack the Block sequel, so it’s exciting to hear that Joe Cornish and John Boyega recently discussed getting back together to make it happen.
Attack the Block writer/director Joe Cornish recently appeared on the Script Apart podcast (via Empire), and he was asked whether a sequel to the movie was still in the cards after nearly a decade. Surprisingly, Cornish sounded rather hopeful that it might come together.
For those who maybe can’t listen to the audio, Cornish had this to say about an Attack the Block sequel:
“We’ve got ideas. I met with John a couple of months ago to talk about it. We’ve always had ideas since after the first one, but obviously we’ve both been busy doing different things. In a weird way, kinda, the longer you leave it the more interesting it is. So that’s what I’ll say.”
It feels like the moment has passed for an Attack the Block sequel after all these years. But if Cornish believes that the longer time goes on, the more interesting a sequel becomes, maybe it’ll happen. Perhaps he already has a good pitch for how to follow up the original movie, which ended with Boyega’s character Moses and his teen gang being blamed for all the mayhem caused by the gnarly invading alien monsters.
On top of the amusing banter between the teen gang and the entertaining sci-fi action, Attack the Block also comes with a message about how society disregards certain people simply because of where they live. In this block in South London, these teens have already turned to a life of crime, but only because that seems to be the one viable opportunity they’re given. Gang member Pest acknowledges this when he says, “Walking the streets waiting to get jumped, just like any other day in The Ends.” But it’s Boyega’s character Moses who addresses the message at the center of the movie a little more directly when talking about the monsters:
“Know what I reckon, yeah? I reckon the feds sent them anyway. Government probably bred those creatures to kill Black boys. First they sent drugs to The Ends. Then they sent guns. Now they send monsters to get us. They don’t care, man. We ain’t killing each other fast enough, so they decided to speed up the process.”
The monsters are much more than bloodthirsty creatures. They’re a metaphor for the relentless attacks that a place like The Ends endures because of corrupt law enforcement, systemic racism, and prejudice in general. And considering John Boyega’s recent passionate speech given to Black Lives Matter protestors in the United Kingdom, I wouldn’t be surprised if he and Cornish can come up with a sequel that continues to dig into these social issues that unfortunately haven’t changed much in the time since Attack the Block was released. We’ll have to wait and see if anything comes out of those recent discussions.
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