After twenty years, the filming and release dates for the sequel to the 1996 film,Trainspotting, have been announced.
For those who are not yet aware of what the film is, you might be a little bit confused. Unlike the title suggests, the plot is not about watching trains. Trainspotting follows addict Mark Renton aka Rent Boy (played by Ewan McGregor) whose friends hinder his sobriety and engage with him in one bad idea after the other. These friends are Sick Boy (Jonny Lee Miller), Begbie (Robert Carlyle), Spud (Ewen Bremner) and Tommy (Kevin McKidd). The majority of the film is set in Scotland, and then ventures out into London, where as Mark tries to escape his life, his friend shows up at his door, tempting him back into that lifestyle.
The film is based on the Scottish novel, by the same title, written by author Irvine Welsh. Which, after its wide success, has a sequel called Porno. But, while at SXSW Film Festival in Austin, Texas the director of the original and the to-be sequel explained that it would only be ‘loosely’ based and would not be overly faithful to the novel. The film title will not resemble that of the book.. As of right now, the film is said to be called T2 (Trainspotting 2), but that could change.
The sequel is said to have around a £13m budget, which is significantly more than the first film, which was made on around £1.5m.
With the announcement that this film was being made, there was speculation if the main cast would reprise their roles or would they be re-cast. But it has been confirmed that the four main cast members, McGregor, Carlyle, Bremner and Miller, will all reclaim their roles.
Filming has already begun on the highly anticipated sequel, with pictures popping up from around the Scottish capital of Edinburgh and reports from locals of spotting the actors and camera crew out and about.
A teaser trailer was released featuring footage from the first film, which is voiced over with original audio by Ewan McGregor’s character, which announces that the anticipated release date is January 27 2017. It also mentions that filming has begun.