Ever since his breakthrough performance as Finn in the Star Wars Sequel Trilogy, John Boyega has been a massive star, being cast in projects left and right. However before he was an A-lister, he starred in the 2011 critically acclaimed film Attack The Block. The film has risen in prominence over the years and become a cult favorite, and now Boyega will be returning to his old stomping ground with Attack The Block 2.
While speaking to Collider, the Star Wars alum expressed his love for Attack the Block and shared an update on how development for the sequel is progressing. Giving fans a long-awaited status report, the British actor said:
We’re quite close. We’re gettin’ there. Obviously, we don’t wanna release no dates to anybody because we wanna take care of the creative process. 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.
It’s great to hear that the development process is going so well and that and we will receive the anticipated sequel in the near future. Boyega offered more details regarding the story and the characters Attack the Block 2 will follow, saying:
This process has been fantastic. The story has actually been presented by myself and Joe Cornish. We’ve collaborated heavily on making a story that makes sense for Moses and the other characters that will come onto the second [film], and the new characters that will be coming up in the sequel too. And then, also, there’s different perspectives in writing it, with Joe having his perspective and me having mine. London has changed so much, in so many different ways, over the years since the first movie. We’re just tryin’ to make sure we explore all of that, while bringing in a whole different vibe to that crazy ass first movie that we made.
I don’t know about you, but this film seems like it’s going to be an absolute blast. With John Boyega’s popularity skyrocketing since the first film, and fantastic source material to build off of, we may have a surprise hit on our hands. Director Joe Cornish as been discussing Attack the Block 2 ideas with Boyega for years now, so there’s clearly a lot of time and effort being put into this project. For those unfamiliar, Attack The Block was a low budget British film about a teenage street gang who face an alien invasion on a council estate in South London on Guy Fawkes Night.
Ever since the conclusion of his Star Wars tenure, Boyega has been quite busy pursuing smaller projects outside the blockbuster franchise realm. The Detroit star will be appearing alongside Viola Davis in The Woman King, project Boyega is very much excited about. He will also be starring alongside Jaime Foxx in a pulpy comedy titled They Cloned Tyrone for Netflix. The film looks incredibly stylish and fun from the first-look photos provided by Foxx.
Boyega has been vocal regarding his mixed experience as a centerpiece for the Star Wars sequel films. Given his choices recently, he has much more of an interest in more personal projects, like Attack The Block 2. I’m glad Boyega has found a career avenue he is comfortable with and will serve him best as an actor.
While we wait for more updates regarding this long awaited sequel, you can stream Attack The Block with a Starz subscription. You can also revisit some of his other performances, including those within the Star Wars franchise, which is streaming on Disney+, or his Golden Globe nominated mini-series Small Axe, streaming exclusively for Amazon Prime Video subscribers.