To date, there have been three Purge films. Set in a dystopian America, each film documents a 12-hour period during which all crime is legal. All three instalments are set in Los Angeles. The First Purge is the fourth film in the franchise, and hits screens on July 4. The action in this prequel, detailing the origins of the night of legalised crime, takes place on New York’s Staten Island. With this in mind, FANDOM asked British actor Joivan Wade, who stars in the film, what a British purge would look like.
“A lot of teacups smashed up. Because we love to do that. I’m a big tea drinker,” he began.
He added, “But I do feel like a purge in England would be very similar to a purge in America, to be honest. There would be a political reason as to why it’s being done. Whether it be Brexit or whatever it is that people want to purge about. But people are people. So, in the US they purge for whatever reason specifically they had, whether they want to murder, whether they want to steal, whatever it is they want to do. We all have our reasons to purge. It would be very similar. I just feel like the political reference would change.”
So the people of the UK would be inclined to take out their social and political frustrations via murder and pillaging – just like their US cousins. But would we see a split between north and south perhaps?
London Divided
“No, I don’t think so,” said Wade. “I feel like people would be in a position where they know why they want to purge, and who they want to purge, and if anything, they would be probably wanting to purge the people in their communities because they have something against whoever it is that they know. Rather than ‘that random person I don’t know from London, and I’m in Scotland, or wherever I am’. There would have to be some kind of strong reasoning for wanting to purge and risk your life.”
But, as a Londoner himself, born in the southeast borough of Lewisham, he reckons things in London could be different, with districts south of the river teaming up against North London.
“Ooh, Lewisham would be mad,” he said. “I feel like Lewisham shopping centre would just be uproar. It wouldn’t be a pleasant place to be. But at the same time, I feel like New Cross would probably back Lewisham [district] — and Catford probably as well. And then in that instance, you might see a North London/South London type thing. You know, if people are coming in to infiltrate a certain area. At some point, someone’s gotta come together and you would just like to hope that Catford and New Cross would back Lewisham.”
Here’s to a display of solidarity from Wade’s South London ‘hood should a London-based purge ever take effect.
The First Purge hits screens in the UK and US on July 4, and in Australia on August 2.