Trainspotting 2: Danny Boyle confirms sequel set for possible 2016 release

Shooting is scheduled for 'May/June' time ​The original four lead actors are returning ​Trainspotting 2 will not be called Porno after Irvine Welsh's follow-up

Ewan McGregor in the 'Worst Toilet in Scotland' scene from the film Trainspotting, 1996 (REX/Moviestore Collection)

Danny Boyle has confirmed that his much-hyped Trainspotting sequel could hit cinemas as soon as 2016, after announcing that a shoot is scheduled for early next summer.

The Oscar-winning director hopes the film’s release will mark the 20th anniversary of the original movie. Lead actors Ewan McGregor, Johnny Lee Miller, Robert Carlyle and Ewen Bremner are returning to their roles, with John Hodge once again penning a “terrific” script, this time roughly based on Irvine Welsh’s 2002 follow-up novel Porno.

Boyle told industry insider The Hollywood Reporter that he aims to shoot in May and June after finding a small gap when the cast could all be available on set. Miller and Carlisle are tied up with US television commitments in Elementary and Once Upon a Time respectively, which proved a timetabling headache for the production team.

“They only get this little window off, so either you wait for the contract to run down, which could be as late as three years, or you kind of try and do it in this window,” Boyle said. “But all four lads are back in.”

The first Trainspotting film was shot over just seven weeks on a tiny budget of $2 million. Boyle’s next effort will cost more, but remain under $20 million so that he can “make the film he wants to make” without having to answer to bosses and “keep some sense like we kept the original”.

A title is yet to be decided upon, but it will not be called Porno. “We’re going to try and call it T2 but there might be some issues there with James Cameron,” Boyle joked.

Irvine Welsh published Trainspotting follow-up Porno in 2002

Fans of the hugely popular original are both excited and wary of Trainspotting 2, with Boyle admitting that even his actors were initially concerned about the risky project.

“They were understandably worried about its reputation and not wanting to let people down or to just be cashing in,” he said. “The script which John has written has been put under a very fierce spotlight by everyone, and it’s a good one.”

Boyle’s next movie, Steve Jobs, is due in UK cinemas on 13 November after screening at the BFI London Film Festival on 18 October.

The film stars Michael Fassbender as the late Apple co-founder and is already being tipped for awards season.