It's been 20 years since we last saw Renton, Sick Boy and the rest of the gang. Soon, however, they'll be back. There's a new T2 in town, and Arnold has nothing to do with this one. Trainspotting 2 has released its first teaser, and it doesn't look all that different from the first film, except that everybody looks a whole heck of a lot older. Check it out.
Iggy Pop's "Lust for Life" was the backing track on the original trailer back in 1996. Even outlining each member of the crew in orange, and giving them a number was part of the deal. It's obvious that Danny Boyle is trying to remind people as hard as possible of the original film. It's no wonder. The original Trainspotting was an enormous hit. It won over numerous critics and built a strong audience in America, a still unusual feat back then for an overseas film.
In addition, Trainspotting introduced American audiences to director Danny Boyle and Ewan McGregor. Boyle would go on to direct movies from 28 Days Later to Steve Jobs. McGregor would go on to become Obi-Wan Kenobi. Needless to say that Trainspotting was an influential film. Fans have wanted to see a sequel come about for a long time, and it's finally on its way.
Of course, this all leads to the question, what exactly is this movie going to be about? We haven't received any sort of plot synopsis yet, so we just don't know. These four didn't exactly all leave each other on the best of terms 20 years ago. Calling them friends by the end of it is a bit of a stretch. The good news is that it appears everybody who was having drug problems apparently survived, as they'd surely be dead if they were still addicts. While dealing with addiction and withdrawal was a major part of the first film, we'd expect the sequel will be more about simply whatever brings these people together again, and the different directions their lives all went after they split up 20 years ago.
We're not sure which is more off-putting, Jonny Lee Miller's white hair, or Robert Carlyle's facial hair. It's clear that time has changed these men, but with the original cast, and the original director, and also the original writer, John Hodge, all together again, if it's possible to recreate the magic of Trainspotting, all the pieces are in place to make that happen. Trainspotting 2 will be released in the UK January 27 and in the U.S. on February 3, 2017.
