Remember “Trainspotting“? The 1996 movie about a heroin addict who stumbles through bad ideas and sobriety attempts with his unreliable friends?
Well, according to Variety, Sony‘s Tristar Pictures managed to acquire the worldwide rights of the sequel to the crime fiction drama.
Scottish actor Ewan McGregor is set to return to the sequel to reprise his role as Mark Renton. Other original cast members including Jonny Lee Miller, Ewen Bremner, and Robert Carlyle will also be reprising their respective roles as Sick Boy, Spud, and Begbie.
Directed by Danny Boyle, “Trainspotting” is a British black comedy crime drama film based on the Academy Award-nominated screenplay by John Hodge. The story follows a group of heroin addicts in a late 1980’s economically depressed area of Edinburgh and their passage through life.
The film grossed USD70 million worldwide on a budget of USD2 million. It also launched the careers of McGregor, Boyle, and Carlyle.
For the sequel, it will reportedly be based on Irvine Welsh’s own sequel novel, “Porno”. It will find the characters crossing paths again 20 years after the events of the first film.
Sources told The Hollywood Reporter that Sony Pictures co-chair Tom Rothman and president of TriStar Hannah Minghella read the script last Thursday night and got into the “dealmaking mode” by Friday.
Hannah said:
Like almost everyone my age, I had the “Choose Life” poster on my university dorm-room wall. I have wanted to work with Danny ever since, so the opportunity to collaborate on the sequel is truly a dream come true. It perfectly represents the filmmaker-driven movies I am committed to making at TriStar.
Boyle will produce the sequel alongside Andrew Macdonald, Christian Colson, and Bernie Bellew through Decibel Films, Figment Films, and Cloud Eight Films. Film4 is also involved.
“Trainspotting 2” is set to be released sometime in 2017.
Sources: Variety, The Hollywood Reporter, Collider.
