Last week we got to see the first trailer for T2, Danny Boyle’s long-awaited sequel to his 1996 cult classic Trainspotting [watch it here], which reunites the original cast of Ewan McGregor (Renton), Jonny Lee Miller (Sick Boy), Ewen Bremner (Spud) and Robert Carlyle (Begbie). During an interview with NME, Trainspotting author Irvine Welsh has spoken about the sequel, as well as teasing a potential TV spinoff.
“We were all nervous before we decided to do [T2], [but] once we saw the script, everybody was confident that we were certainly not going to trash the legacy of the first film and that we were going to build on it,” said Welsh. “It has managed to take the most dynamic elements of the [Trainspotting] book and [the sequel] Porno but also look forward to how it can be contemporary and present day. In some ways, I think it’s a better movie [than Trainspotting]. They have become such iconic characters and this is going to cement that status even more.”
Asked about the possibility of seeing the further exploits of the characters on screen, Welsh responded that, “Basically, I’ve plans for them all. All in various kind of schedules or adaptations. It’s all ruling on cable TV, cable TV has some interesting developments. We’re working on all these different kind of things. I think now anybody who’s in the book, whether the like it or not, they’re working on the way of being in the film. You keep that in mind. As soon as you’ve written it, you’re thinking about how it can move into different mediums.”
First there was an opportunity……then there was a betrayal. Twenty years have gone by. Much has changed but just as much remains the same. Mark Renton (Ewan McGregor) returns to the only place he can ever call home. They are waiting for him: Spud (Ewen Bremner), Sick Boy (Jonny Lee Miller), and Begbie (Robert Carlyle). Other old friends are waiting too: sorrow, loss, joy, vengeance, hatred, friendship, love, longing, fear, regret, diamorphine, self-destruction and mortal danger, they are all lined up to welcome him, ready to join the dance.
T2: Trainspotting is set for release on January 27th.
Originally published November 10, 2016. Updated November 30, 2022.
