Ewan McGregor and Johnny Lee Miller back in Trainspotting 2 again

One of the smartest movies about drug addiction, getting both critical acclaim with a shot at Cannes and wide-distribution and incredible gross earnings, Trainspotting is regularly regarded as one of the best movies in the world. No small feat when the film makes a show of its main character having the runs for several scenes. Despite the desolate depravity on parade, the movie coalesced into a beautiful story of principal humanity, so it’s no wonder its cast was hungry for a sequel. Trainspotting 2 looks to follow the plot of Irvine Welsh’s sequel/companion novel Porno. The film is currently scheduled to release in the first quarter of 2017.

Despite being one of the most nihilistic films, Trainspotting harbored a real love for humanity. A cold exterior (well-decorated with jokes about shitting) sits just above a core of warmth and understanding. The characters went through hell, heroin addiction is no joke, but they came out on the other side looking both scared and human. We can expect Trainspotting 2 to be more of the same, more desperation, more need, and more addiction but thrown up against the backdrop of pornography rather than heroin. While rumors have reported that Trainspotting 2 will take place 20 years into the future rather than the 10 in the novel Porno, this is unlikely to make the events of the film deviate too much from those of the novel.

History
To avoid spoilers from the novel, it’s safe to say that the events of the past film will not be forgotten. After the events of the first film in which (spoilers!) Renton abandoned the group with all the money from their work, Begbie is out for some form of closure with Renton. Sick Boy and Spud both return with their own separate interests in seeking the former protagonist out, though the film will probably focus more on Sick Boy than Renton, due to the fact that Renton’s character development ended with his flight, which we understand to be a total abdication of the ideals he professed in the first section of the film. Only Sick Boy and Spud seem to be characters with any sort of developmental mobility, so it’s likely the film will follow Porno and focus on their development rather than Renton’s shenanigans.

Culture and Conclusion
It’s fair to say that the original Trainspotting captured the spirit of Edinburgh better than any other film at the time. Nominated for both a British Academy Film Award and ranked by the British Film Institute as the 10th best film of all time, it has serious cultural purchase in both Scottish and British culture. It’s likely that the sequel will try to capture both the timelessness and the human spirit of the original. Expect bawdy jokes, expect life, expect a job, expect a career – Trainspotting’s back and it’s going to be bigger than ever. It’ll be interesting to see how Irvine Welsh manages to weave the extended conceit of addiction around another story of Edinburgh, but set years into a modern Scotland. With this blockbuster, movie goers stand a chance of learning while getting entertained, which is more like a win-win situation.