Trainspotting sequel: Danny Boyle fears pressure

Original cast members are set to return, including Ewan McGregor, Robert Carlyle, and Jonny Lee Miller. Picture: Comp

It has been almost 20 years since cult classic Trainspotting was released, launching the careers of Scots Ewan McGregor and author Irvine Welsh.

After years of pressure from fans asking for a sequel, Boyle revealed in September that work was now underway with original cast members McGregor, Robert Carlyle and Jonny Lee Miller.

But since then Boyle has now admitted to feeling nervous about making the highly anticipated follow up.

And said that he will thrive of the “potential danger” in the hope that he can make a decent movie.

During the premiere of his latest film, Steve Jobs, he said: “Obviously it’s worrying because people will kill us if we made a bad job of it.

“I will get absolutely crucified.

“But you have to thrive on that potential danger within it and if it feeds into it, you might get a decent film out of it, you know.”

Boyle has also decided to revisit Edinburgh to start filming next year – the location for the original movie.

“We’re going up to Scotland very early and we’re going to do a week’s workshop up in Edinburgh working on the script,” He added.

“And we’re filming in May and June of next year.”

“Hopefully we can get it finished in time to release it in 2016 which is the 20th anniversary year. So yes, we’re on it, and it’s looking good.”

The Slumdog Millionaire director revealed the “terrific” script is being written by original Trainspotting screenwriter John Hodge.

And that it will be “loosely” based around Welsh’s follow up novel, Porno, which revisits the characters nine years after the original.

After reading comments that Boyle felt “he’ll get ‘absolutely crucified’ if Trainspotting 2 is a bad film”, Welsh took to Twitter to tweet: “Remember the ‘he’ll’ part of that statement, FFS...”

One fan then tweeted Irvine to say she hopes the sequel will be based on his novel to which he responded: “If it’s any good, of course it will be, if it’s sh**e, they’ll have strayed too far. #NovelistPerogative.”

Trainspotting was released in 1996 and focuses on a group of heroin addicts living in Edinburgh during the late 1980’s.

It was placed in the top 10 for the 100 Best British films of all time and in 2004 was voted the Best Scottish Film of all time in a general public poll by The List.

After being released in the US, the first 20 minutes of the film had to be re-dubbed as American audiences struggled to understand the thick Scottish accents.

The original movie was filmed over seven weeks on a tiny budget of £1.5m - £2.5m in today’s economy.

However, the figure is minuscule compared to the sequels budget which Boyle has said could be nearer the £13m mark.

Despite this he wants to spend as little as possible to limit studio interference and “make the film he wants to make” without having to answer to bosses and to make the film have the same “sense as the original.”

No official name for the sequel has been announced but rumours have circulated that it may simply be called T2.