Last year, we got some truly delightful sequel news when John Boyega announced Attack the Block 2, the followup to the 2011 alien invasion film Attack the Block. The first film, written and directed by Joe Cornish, was unlike many of its predecessors: It followed the unexpected adventures of a group of teens (and a couple of adults) who fight back when their London council estate is invaded by some very unusual creatures. As Moses, Boyega was the movie’s driving force, a kid who steps up to meet the strangest of circumstances and becomes a hero—if one not fully appreciated by the local authorities—in the process.
And he has an even bigger role to play in the sequel. Boyega was already announced as a producer on the second film, but in a recent interview with Collider, he said he’s also co-writing the screenplay with Cornish.
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“We’ve collaborated heavily,” Boyega said, noting that they’re bringing two distinct perspectives to the story, and that there’s a lot to take into account: “London has changed so much, in so many different ways, over the years since the first movie. We’re just trying to make sure we explore all of that, while bringing in a whole different vibe to that crazy ass first movie that we made.”
He also said that the Moses will be older in the sequel, which only makes sense; it’s been eleven years since the first film, after all. Moses has probably been through a lot, given the events of the first film’s climax—and so has Boyega, whose profile was raised considerably by his role in the Star Wars sequel trilogy. Since then, he’s taken a host of intriguing roles; his next is in the Viola Davis-starring The Woman King.
There’s been no word on when Attack the Block 2 will begin filming, but Boyega told Collider that they’re “quite close.” He continued: “We have the main spine of the story, but we’re still in the lab, just making sure the story is right. Story is everything. But it won’t be too long. I’ve given them the drums to speed up the process. Hopefully soon, we’ll have an announcement for when we’ll be around London, messin’ stuff up.”
If for some incomprehensible reason you have not yet watched Attack the Block—which also stars Doctor Who herself, Jodie Whittaker—it is currently available on Starz.
