A sequel to Trainspotting, the drug-fueled black comedy that put director Danny Boyle, star Ewan McGregor, and British filmmaking in general on the map, has been discussed for some time. Now it appears to be closer than ever to becoming a reality, as Boyle has revealed that he intends to make Trainspotting 2 his next project.
Boyle dropped the news prior to the first public screening of his latest movie, Steve Jobs. He said Trainspotting 2 would indeed be based on author Irvine Welsh’s 2002 sequel to the original novel, Porno, despite openly stating that the book isn’t as good as the first one. John Hodges, whose Trainspotting script was Oscar nominated, has already turned in a “terrific” screenplay.
What’s more, all four principal actors — McGregor, Robert Carlyle, Jonny Lee Miller, and Ewen Bremner — will be returning for the film. McGregor and Boyle had a rather public falling out when the director cast Leonardo DiCaprio in The Beach instead of McGregor, who starred in all three of Boyle’s films till that point. However, their differences have since been laid to rest, and they’ve even met to discuss the direction of Trainspotting 2.
“All the four main actors want to come back and do it,” Boyle told Deadline. “Now it is only a matter of getting all their schedules together, which is complicated by two of them doing American TV series.” The series he’s referring to are Elementary, starring Miller as Sherlock, and Once Upon a Time, starring Carlyle as Mr. Gold/Rumplestiltskin. It seems, though, that as soon as the schedules can get worked out, production will get underway.
The recent uptick in activity seems to be motivated by the fact that 2016 marks the 20th anniversary of the acclaimed original, which could be used to build up publicity for a sequel.
Porno picks up with the characters 10 years after the incidents of the first book as Sick Boy (Miller) is attempting to clean up his life and turn his newly inherited pub into a classy establishment, financed by allowing it to be the set of an adult film. Spud (Bremner) has fallen into a deep depression after kicking his heroine habit, and Renton (McGregor) has opened a successful club in Amsterdam and agrees to help finance Sick Boy’s film. He’s also mastered martial arts in anticipation of Begbie’s (Carlyle) eventual release from prison. How closely Trainspotting 2 will follow this story isn’t yet clear, though it looks like we’ll find out sooner rather than later.
Revisit the film’s original trailer below.
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