Next year will mark the 20th anniversary of TRAINSPOTTING’s release, which makes it the perfect time for Danny Boyle to head into production on its sequel, with the distinct possibility that the much-discussed follow-up would then be ready to hit theaters before 2016 is over.
While promoting STEVE JOBS, Boyle confirmed that a May or June start date was likely if things went according to plan, with Jonny Lee Miller and Robert Carlyle‘s TV commitments in the U.S. posing the biggest obstacles to making everyone’s schedules work. (Miller stars in ELEMENTARY for CBS, while Carlyle is on ABC’s ONCE UPON A TIME.)
With the original TRAINSPOTTING bring shot over the course of only seven weeks, Boyle anticipates looking at another tight needle to thread the schedule, as the only other option would be to wait a few more years until everyone is free entirely… which sounds less than optimal.
As for control over the film, Boyle looks to be executing a plan that will allow him to make the film that he and his cast really want to pull off.
We’re doing it for less than $20 million, and that’ll give us control of the film so we can make the film we want to make. That’s as much as you can get without being answerable to anybody. You can sort of get on with it without much interference. Although we could have raised a lot more money for this, we didn’t, so we’re trying to keep some sense like we kept the original.
Those are the sacrifices that need to be made in order to maintain creative control, and Boyle appears to be perfectly accepting of that in order to do what he wants. That’s what we call “living the dream.”
Besides, does anyone wants a TRAINSPOTTING sequel that isn’t being made for the right reasons anyway and that is dictating by the budget being spent? I’d hope not.