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No one's even seen 'T2 Trainspotting' yet, the sequel to 1996's 'Trainspotting' which opens in cinemas this month – but already Irvine Welsh, the author of the books, is talking about a third Trainspotting film.
'I think there’s probably room for one more kind of "Trainspotting"-themed film,' Welsh told Time Out last week.
Now 59, Welsh wrote the original novel 'Trainspotting' in the early 1990s, when he was in his mid-thirties. He followed it with a sequel, 'Porno', in 2002, which loosely forms the basis for the new film. He has since written a prequel, 2012's 'Skagboys', and even a Begbie-based spin-off, 2016's 'The Blade Artist', which imagines the former hooligan (played by Robert Carlyle in the films) now living cleanly as an artist and family man in California.
It appears that Welsh is considering 'The Blade Artist' as a possible future film. But the problem with turning 'The Blade Artist' into a movie anytime soon is that the idea of Begbie living as a reformed character in the US totally contradicts the story of the new Trainspotting film. Set now, 'T2 Trainspotting' sees Begbie out of jail in Scotland and intent on exacting revenge on his old pal Renton (Ewan McGregor), who we last saw running off with a load of cash at the end of the 1996 film.
'Yeah, but you never know what’s going to happen with these things,' Welsh mused, thinking about 'The Blade Artist'.
'It’s a very, very filmic book, I think. It’s almost like, bang, it has a three-act structure with not a lot of padding. And it's a lot more genre than some of the other Trainspotting books.'
In the meantime, Welsh is happy with how 'T2 Trainspotting' has turned out.
'I’m massively impressed and delighted by it. Obviously, I’ve got a vested interest in it, so you might as well take what I’ve got to say with a pinch of salt! But yeah, I’m happy with it. I think it’s a much stronger film than the original.'
'T2 Trainspotting' opens on Friday January 27.