Empire's new issue, out on December 29, features the four stars of T2 Trainspotting on four alternative covers, plus world-exclusive images (see a selection below), and on-set access to [Danny Boyle](Robert Carlyle)’s new film. We spoke to Boyle and the cast, who all admitted that returning to these characters, twenty years on, was a big deal.
“I was crying,” says (Robert Carlyle of first reading the script. “I thought, ‘Why the fuck am I crying at this?’” The entire cast and crew were emotional, he says. “Danny felt it. Ewan and Ewen felt it. Jonny, we all felt this real emotional connection to these characters and to this world. But that first read – I was speaking to Ewan McGregor, saying, ‘I cannae believe I’m feeling like this.’ I’ve never cried when I’ve read a screenplay before. Ever.”
[Ewan McGregor](Ewan McGregor ), for his part, admitted to being “really fucking nervous” about stepping back into Renton’s shoes. But once on set, he relaxed back into the role that made his name. “As soon as I got the Adidas on, I was alright. Because I’m Renton, and Renton’s me. There was nothing to find – he was already there.” McGregor pointed out that he and his character are interchangeable: “I hadn’t seen Danny for all those years, and Renton hasn’t seen his mates for all those years. I haven’t lived in Scotland since I was 17. He fucked off, and I fucked off. He’s coming back, I was coming back. There were an awful lot of parallels, you might say.”
This is just a taste of our huge T2 Trainspotting coverage, which dominates the new issue of Empire, arriving in all good and evil newsagents from December 29. Want to get exclusive subscriber-only covers delivered days before everyone else? You’ll want to subscribe to Empire – including the option of an instant digital subscription. T2 Trainspotting, meanwhile, arrives in UK cinemas on 27 January, ahead of March US release.