One year after Sony let go of Danny Boyle and his “Steve Jobs” movie, the studio’s TriStar label has closed a deal for a sequel to “Trainspotting” that will reunite the director with his original cast.
Ewan McGregor will return to star alongside Jonny Lee Miller, Ewen Bremner, and Robert Carlyle, while screenwriter John Hodge is back for the as-yet-untitled sequel, which is based on “Trainspotting” author Irvine Welsh‘s follow-up novel “Porno.”
Sony chief Tom Rothman has long been in Boyle’s corner, having worked with the director at Fox Searchlight on “A Life Less Ordinary,” “28 Days Later,” “Slumdog Millionaire” and “127 Hours.”
Rothman and TriStar’s Hannah Minghella read the “Trainspotting 2” script late Thursday night and moved quickly to take it off the table on Friday afternoon.
The “Trainspotting” sequel will be produced by Boyle, Andrew Macdonald, Christian Colson and Bernie Bellew. Production will begin next spring in advance of a 2017 release that will mark the 21st anniversary of the original film.
“It’s been 20 years since we met these characters and John Hodge’s screenplay brilliantly explores what’s happened to them — and to us — in the intervening years. We are grateful to Tom and Hannah for their support and we can’t wait to get going,” said Boyle.
“‘Trainspotting’ was a seminal movie for me,” Minghella added. “Like almost everyone my age, I had the ‘Choose Life’ poster on my university dorm room wall. I have wanted to work with Danny ever since, so the opportunity to collaborate on the sequel is truly a dream come true. It perfectly represents the filmmaker-driven movies I am committed to making at TriStar.”
"The Hunger Games: Mockingjay -- Part 2" -- November 20
In the fifth and final movie of the franchise, Katniss Everdeen (Jennifer Lawrence) and her comrades in District 13 embark on a full-on revolution against the Capitol.
"Creed" -- November 25
Sylvester Stallone returns as Rocky Balboa, this time serving as trainer and mentor to Adonis Creed (Michael B. Jordan), the son of former enemy Apollo Creed.
"The Good Dinosaur" -- Nov. 25
Pixar's movie about the epic journey into the world of dinosaurs features an Apatosaurus as he makes an unlikely friend: a human boy.
"Victor Frankenstein" -- Nov. 25
In this retelling of Mary Shelley's classic, Daniel Radcliffe's Igor takes center stage as we learn about his dark origins and how he became the assistant of scientist Victor Frankenstein (James McAvoy).
"The Danish Girl" -- Nov. 25
Eddie Redmayne slips into the role of transgender pioneer Lili Elbe, who had what is considered to be the first successful gender reassignment surgery. Alicia Vikander and Amber Heard costar.
"Krampus" -- December 4
Just another little holiday horror film as a young boy conjures a Christmas demon.
Maggie Smith reprises her onstage role as a crotchety transient who parks herself on an otherwise quiet residential street.
"Youth" -- December 4
Michael Caine and Harvey Keitel play 70-something best friends who vacation together in the Alps -- but it's Jane Fonda's supporting role that's been getting most of the buzz.
Amy Poehler and Tina Fey play two sisters who throw one last party before their parents sell the house where they grew up.
"Son of Saul" -- December 18
A prize winner at this year's Cannes, the Hungarian drama follows a Hungarian-Jewish prisoner at Auschwitz who finds a body be believes may be his son.
Will Smith stars as Dr. Bennet Omalu, the neuropathologist who made the discovery of CTE, the football-related brain trauma. The film also features Alec Baldwin, Stephen Moyer and Luke Wilson.
"Daddy's Home" -- December 25
Will Ferrell is the ideal stepdad in this family comedy -- until the free-wheeling biological father (Mark Wahlberg) shows up.
"Joy" -- December 25
Jennifer Lawrence and Bradley Cooper step in front of the camera again in "Joy," a film about a suburban mom who launches a domestic goods empire. Robert De Niro and Dascha Polanco costar.
"Point Break" -- December 25
In the reboot of the 1991 Keanu Reeves-Patrick Swayze action classic, Luke Bracey stars as an FBI agent who goes undercover with extreme-sports athletes suspected of elaborate heists.
Leonardo DiCaprio stars as Hugh Glass, a trapper on the 19th-century American frontier seeking revenge on the people who left him for dead after a bear mauling. Tom Hardy, Will Poulter and Domhnall Gleeson also star.
"Anomalisa" -- December 30
Charlie Kaufman's new film, a prize winner at the Venice Film Festival, is a typically bizarre stop-motion animated dramedy about an author who struggles to connect with other people.
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TheWrap’s guide to the season’s screenings, from ”The Hunger Games“ finale to all the Oscar-friendly fare