It should go without saying that when given the opportunity, people will sit down to watch movies in which John Boyega plays characters who somehow end up fighting aliens hellbent on colonising vulnerable planets. While the actor’s Star Wars run may have come to an end, there’s always been another franchise audiences have hoped he would return to. And at long last…Attack the Block will.
Deadline reports both Boyega and Attack The Block director Joe Cornish have signed on for a sequel to the 2011 sci-fi action-comedy about a group of kids from South London inadvertently becoming Earth’s first line of defence against an alien invasion. Currently, there’s no word on specific plot details and whether other original cast members like Jodie Whittaker — currently still dealing with various aliens on Doctor Who — will reprise their roles, but in a public statement, both Boyega and Cornish emphasised that the sequel’s an expanded continuation of the first film’s story.
“I’m thrilled we’re officially announcing our return to the world of Attack The Block on the tenth anniversary of the film’s release,” Cornish said. “I can’t wait to work alongside John again, bringing audiences an even bigger slice of inner-city alien action.”
When Attack the Block first premiered, its story centering the lives of working-class, marginalised youth within a larger epic about saving the world was a welcome change of pace to the cinematic sci-fi space. Characters like Boyega’s Moses are still few and far between, and Boyega’s glad to be bringing him back, particularly now. “It’s been a decade since Attack The Block was released and so much has changed since then,” Boyega said. “I’m excited to see this heightened story return to the streets of London.”
Attack the Block was a damn-near perfect film that holds up on its own, but the ending more than leaves enough open for a deeper exploration of the world Moses and his friends were mostly certain was no longer in peril. There are no details on when you should expect to hear more about Attack the Block’s sequel, but we’ll keep you updated as we learn it.