It has been more than 40 years since Rob Reiner introduced the world to England’s loudest (fictional) heavy metal band in the classic mockumentary This Is Spinal Tap and the sequel promises to be even louder. Fans of the film have hoped for this for decades and their patience will pay off later this year. The first official teaser for the new film along with a release date dropped earlier today (March 13).
This article first appeared in American Songwriter Magazine.
Titled Spinal Tap II: The End Continues, the new film will hit theaters in the United States on September 12. The teaser doesn’t reveal anything about the plot of the movie. However, it does show the legendary amp that “goes to 11” with a twist. One knob on the Marshall’s face goes far beyond 11. Watch the clip below.
Rob Reiner discussed what sparked the idea for the This Is Spinal Tap sequel and shared a little about the plot in an interview with Empire last year. He revealed that the idea for the sequel started to take shape after Tony Hendra, the actor who played the band’s manager Ian Faith, died. At that time, Michael McKean (David St. Hubbins), Christopher Guest (Nigel Tufnel), and Harry Shearer (Derek Smalls) hadn’t played together as Spinal Tap for more than a decade.
“We thought, ‘Maybe there’s something in that, a reunion concert,’” Reiner said. “We came up with this idea that Ian Faith had willed his daughter, Hope, this contract that called for one more performance. She thinks initially, ‘Well, this is not really worth anything, because the band hasn’t played together.’ But then, some big music star, while screwing aroudn at a sound check, is filmed on an iPhone singing a Tap song and it goes wild on social media. All of a sudden, the contract is worth something,” Reiner explained.
He didn’t reveal who the “big music star” is. However, in a different interview, Reiner revealed that Paul McCartney, Elton John, and Garth Brooks will appear in the film alongside other cameos from musical A-listers.
During his conversation with Empire, Reiner also revealed what the members of Spinal Tap have been doing between the original film and the sequel. “Nigel has been running a cheese and guitar shop in Berwick-upon-Tweed. He’s also been performing with a local folk band in the village that play penny whistle and mandolin,” he said.
“David St. Hubbins has been living in Morro Bay in California, and he’s been writing music for podcasts… He also writes the music you hear when you’re on hold on the phone,” he added.
“And then we have Derek. Derek is living in London and is now the curator of the New Museum of Glue. He’s curated glue from every country in the world, the whole history of glue,” Reiner revealed. “He’s also been performing with a philharmonic orchestra, and he’s written this kind of symphony about the fact that the devil wears a bad hair piece. It’s called Hell Toupee.”