John Boyega Officially Returns To Kick More Alien Ass In Joe Cornish’s ‘Attack The Block 2’

Folks might be unfamiliar with how British actor John Boyega developed his career in Hollywood and it all started with Joe Cornish’s alien invasion comedy Attack The Block, the 2011 R-rated parody saw a group of London toughs led by Boyega’s Moses as animal-like alien invade their estate block. The group of hoodlums pivot to become protectors of fellow residents when it’s clear the aliens aren’t terribly friendly.

Attack The Block had a similar tone to Edgar Wright’s fantastic zombie flick Shaun of The Dead, which wasn’t that surprising as Edgar was a producer and has a longstanding working relationship with Joe Cornish. You might remember that the pair once co-wrote the original script of Marvel’s Ant-Man only to exit over creative differences.

The success of the cult film helped push John towards the chase for a franchise role as he had teased an interest in playing Marvel’s Blade in Attack The Block press interviews, taking the mantle from Wesley Snipes, almost a decade before Mahershala Ali was announced as the new Eric Brooks. It ultimately led to John auditing for J.J. Abrams and Lucasfilm to play Finn in Star Wars: The Force Awakens officially launching his career to a completely different level.

There has been talk from director Joe Cornish was considering about making Attack The Block 2 and there is now confirmation by Deadline that Boyega is set to return with Joe also returning to write and direct the mature sci-fi comedy. Edgar Wright is back as producer as well via Complete Fiction Pictures.

The original co-starred Nick Frost (Shaun of The Dead, Hot Fuzz) and Jodie Whittaker (Doctor Who), but it remains to be seen if they’ll reprise their roles.

It’s unknown when they’ll want to begin production as Joe is a tad busy shooting the Netflix series Lockwood over the summer.

ATTACK THE BLOCK – Trainee nurse Sam is walking home to her flat in a scary South London tower block when she’s robbed by a gang of masked, hooded youths. She’s saved when the gang are distracted by a bright meteorite, which falls from the sky and hits a nearby parked car. Sam flees, just before the gang are attacked by a small alien creature that leaps from the wreckage. The gang chase the creature and kill it, dragging its ghoulish carcass to the top of the block, which they treat as their territory. While Sam and the police hunt for the gang, a second wave of meteors fall. Confident of victory against such feeble invaders, the gang grab weapons, mount bikes and mopeds and set out to defend their turf. But this time, the creatures are bigger. Much bigger. Savage, shadowy and bestial, they are hunting their fallen comrade and nothing will stand in their way. The estate is about to become a battleground. And the bunch of no-hope kids who just attacked Sam are about to become her and the block’s, only hope.

SOURCE: DEADLINE

Yorgos Lanthimos Nabs Emma Stone & Willem Dafoe For His Next Film ‘Poor Things’ – A Satirical Postmodern Revision of ‘Frankenstein’

Deadline reports that filmmaker Yorgos Lanthimos (The Lobster, The Favourite) is moving foward with his next film Poor Things at Searchlight Pictures and Film4. The project is an adaptation of the Alasdair Gray novel that is sort of a satirical take on the Victorian novel and a postmodern spin on the Frankenstein tale, as Bella Baxter is a beautiful young woman brought back to life after drowning with the aide of science and the brain of an infant.

Emma Stone, who worked with Yorgos on the Oscar-winning film The Favourite has landed the role of of Bella and Willem Dafoe has taken another undisclosed role as he’s currently in discussions.

One of Alasdair Gray’s most brilliant creations, Poor Things is a postmodern revision of Frankenstein that replaces the traditional monster with Bella Baxter – a beautiful young erotomaniac brought back to life with the brain of an infant. Godwin Baxter’s scientific ambition to create the perfect companion is realized when he finds the drowned body of Bella, but his dream is thwarted by Dr. Archibald McCandless’s jealous love for Baxter’s creation.

The hilarious tale of love and scandal that ensues would be “the whole story” in the hands of a lesser author (which in fact it is, for this account is actually written by Dr. McCandless). For Gray, though, this is only half the story, after which Bella (a.k.a. Victoria McCandless) has her own say in the matter. Satirizing the classic Victorian novel, Poor Things is a hilarious political allegory and a thought-provoking duel between the desires of men and the independence of women, from one of Scotland’s most accomplished author.

It’s unclear when production will begin.

SOURCE: DEADLINE