Update: With May already more than halfway over, Trainspotting fans (who’d been expecting the month to courier news about the beginnings of principal photography on the much anticipated sequel to Danny Boyle‘s drug addiction drama) have been growing a bit anxious. Luckily, the day has finally come—today, May 16, marks the official start of filming on Trainspotting 2… or T2, as it is nicknamed in the new teaser for the film. If that weren’t good enough news, we’ve also got an official release date: January 27, 2017.

Finally, we can let excitement for the upcoming sequel (directed by Boyle and featuring the original’s stars, Ewan McGregor, Jonny Lee Miller, Robert Carlyle, and Ewen Bremner) abound properly.

When much-anticipated projects—like the upcoming Trainspotting sequel—get delayed, we get anxious. Everything is happening behind the scenes and we get impatient, unable to understand how things could possibly be taking so long. In the case of Trainspotting part deux, we’ve had to rely on tidbits of information here and there just to assure us that the project is still moving forward. After all, three years ago Danny Boyle projected a 2016 release date with the original cast and now here we are, movieless. And now we’ve got a big fat juicy tidbit of excellent news regarding the film’s progress.

In a recent Miles Ahead interview, Steve Weintraub was able to glean some new info from Ewan McGregor. The Trainspotting franchise’s leading man confirmed that shooting is set to begin at the end of May. During the interview, he talked about waiting for the right time to make the film. “It’s been 10 years since Irvine Welsh wrote the sequel novel, Porno, so it’s been a long time, a lot of speculation. For me, too! 10 years ago, I didn’t want to do it; I wasn’t ready to do it. Also, there was no script.”

McGregor also played up the importance of John Hodge’s adaptation of Walsh’s novel. “The script only arrived very recently, which was really, really, really good. I think, if that had not happened, none of us would be into it. I think we’re all sort of somewhat protective of what Trainspotting means to people, and what it means to us. None of us want to make a poor sequel to it. So had we not been presented with the most extraordinary script, which we were, I think we wouldn’t be making the sequel. But because we were, we are.”

This is all wonderful news indeed. Stay tuned to Nerdist for more updates regarding the film, and let us know which Trainspotting character you’re most excited to see after this 20-year gestation period.

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HT: Collider

IMAGE: Miramax