John Boyega has wielded a Lightsaber, played a Marine Corps veteran on the wrong side of the law, and starred in a number of other high-profile roles, but to the actor’s father, none of that really cuts it because he hasn’t done enough Die Hard style movies. Why does this matter? As Boyega recently explained, it is all down to his Dad wanting him to be more like Bruce Willis and go back to starring in action movies like his early role in Attack the Block.

Boyega is currently starring in the historical movie The Woman King, and will also be seen in the comedy They Cloned Tyrone. It is this recent run of more emotional and less action-orientated roles that has seen his father express not being as into the “artistic movies” as ones where he can just jump off a building. Boyega relayed the story during his appearance on Jimmy Kimmel Live!, saying:

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“My dad recently said to me, he goes ‘You know, John, all these artistic movies that you are doing, I’m not quite interested in them.’ My dad just wants me to jump off of buildings. He actually asked me why my career is not like Bruce Willis. I’m like, ‘I’m trying to connect with the audience, Dad!’ He’s just like, ‘No, no, jump off a building, and then you’re a star.’ Once they see the action, you watch Attack the Block, and it was kind of like, first film, I see you doing a bit of action, he was like, ‘yeah, oh yeah, he’s going to be my action star son.’ And then I started doing all these emotional in-depth character arc movies, and he’s like ‘ugh, oh character, artists.’ Die Hard is what he enjoys. [Bruce Willis] that’s his guy. So Bruce Willis is who my dad compares my career to at every single point, it’s Bruce Willis.”

John Boyega Could Be Back in Attack The Block 2

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While John Boyega has been in the headlines in recent months for stating that he has no desire to return to the Star Wars franchise in the future due to his experiences during the filming of the sequel trilogy and the intense fan reaction, he could be returning to where he made his film debut with a sequel to 2011 cult hit Attack The Block.

As Moses in Attack the Block, Boyega played one of a group of teens who have to defend themselves against an alien attack. While the movie did not break any box office records and only made back half of its lowly $8 million budget, the film is considered one of the best sci-f comedies of the decade. Now Boyega is working on the script for the sequel with Joe Cornish, and recently revealed:

That will clearly make his father happy and is also eagerly awaited by the original movie’s following. For now, Boyega can be seen staring in the Viola Davis-led The Woman King in theaters.

“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.”