Attack the Block 2 Update Given by Director: ‘We’re Taking Our Time’

Writer and director Joe Cornish announced in 2021 that he and John Boyega were returning to the Attack the Block franchise, with Cornish set to write and direct the second film. In a recent interview with ComingSoon, Cornish gave an update on how that’s going.

When asked about the love that people have for the cult horror comedy, Cornish said that the reception to the film is beyond his wildest dreams. He also noted that, despite the lackluster performance in theaters, he was happy that people eventually found it.

“It’s beyond my wildest dreams, you know? It’s fantastic,” said Cornish. “The movie had such a great reception in the States, in particular, but it didn’t have a huge release. It was kind of dumped by Sony. They put it in a couple of theaters and didn’t really advertise it. But it’s managed to gain a following just through people, I guess, watching it first on DVD and then watching it on TV and watching it in repertory houses and stuff.

“So it, it’s fantastic. Oh, and also, you know, the fact that John Boyega has become such a huge star has really elevated the movie. It’s incredible. It’s my first movie. I had no idea how people were going to respond to it. I had no idea people would understand what we were trying to say with it. Whether people would believe in the aliens, whether — especially international audiences — would understand the slang, all this stuff.”

Cornish also gave a brief update on the status of the second film, noting that they are “really excited about the ideas” they have, but are still taking their time to get everything together exactly right.

“So I really couldn’t be happier and we’re really excited about the ideas we have for the sequel, but we’re taking our time to get the script and the production exactly right.”

The original film centered on a teenage street gang who have to defend their block from an alien invasion in South London on Guy Fawkes Night. The movie also starred Jodie Whittaker, Alex Esmail, Franz Drameh, Leeon Jones, Simon Howard, Luke Treadaway, Jumayn Hunter, and Nick Frost.

Attack the Block debuted in 2011 and launched the career of lead Boyega. Cornish received a BAFTA nomination for the film, which won the Audience Award at SXSW and the Los Angeles Film Festival.