It’s Spinal Tap II, a sequel to the 1984 comedy This Is Spinal Tap, is coming to the big screen in 2024, with Rob Reiner returning to the director’s chair.
The sequel to the cult classic mockumentary will reunite the original stars of the film, Harry Shearer, Christopher Guest and Michael McKean.
The film will be the first release from Castle Rock Entertainment’s revived film division, Deadline reported Thursday.
The Latest: It’s Spinal Tap II, a sequel to the 1984 comedy This Is Spinal Tap, is coming to the big screen in 2024, with Rob Reiner returning to the director’s chair. (L-R) Harry Shearer, Christopher Guest, Michael McKean and Reiner were seen in a still from the original film.
The film’s premise follows the faux English heavy metal trio of Derek Smalls (Shearer), Nigel Tufnel (Guest), and David St. Hubbins (McKean), with Reiner reprising his role as filmmaker Marty DiBergi.
Reiner, 75, told Deadline that there has been demand for the sequel for years, but it wasn’t until he, Shearer, Guest and McKean conceived of a solid concept for the sequel that he decided to go ahead.
“The plan is to do a sequel that comes out on the 40th anniversary of the original film and I can tell you that hardly a day goes by without someone saying, ‘Why don’t you do another one?'” he said. ‘For so many years, we said, ‘No.’
‘It wasn’t until we came up with the right idea of how to do this. You don’t want to just do it, do it. You want to honor the former and take it a little further with the story.’
The film’s premise follows the faux English heavy metal trio of Derek Smalls (Shearer), Nigel Tufnel (Guest), and David St. Hubbins (Mckean).
The film in 2002 was chosen for preservation by the National Film Registry, as the Library of Congress declared it to be “culturally, historically, and aesthetically significant”.
Reiner discussed the story of the upcoming film, as the band is under pressure to reunite for one final concert.
“They played Albert Hall, they played Wembley Stadium, all over the country and in Europe,” Reiner told Deadline. “They haven’t spent time together recently, and that became the premise. The idea was that Ian Faith, who was his manager, would die. Actually, Tony Hendra (the actor who played Faith) passed away.
Ian’s widow inherited a contract that said Spinal Tap owed them one more gig. She was basically going to sue them if they didn’t. All these years and a lot of bad blood that we will get into and they will get back together and be forced to deal with each other and play this concert.
Reiner discussed reprising his role as Marty DiBergi, the director who made the original film, which “the band was upset about.”
“They thought I did a hatchet job and this is a chance to redeem myself,” Reiner said. “I’m a huge fan and I felt bad that they didn’t like what they saw in the first movie. When I heard they might be getting back together, I was a visiting adjunct teaching assistant at the Ed Wood School of Cinematic Arts. He dropped everything to document this final concert.’
Guest, Shearer, McKean and Reiner posed for a photo during a screening of the original film at the 2019 Tribeca Film Festival in New York.
The film was Reiner’s initial effort as a film director, as he has amassed an impressive catalog of films in the 38 years since.
The original film is scheduled to screen at the Cannes Film Festival on Wednesday as part of the Cinema de la Plage lineup.
The film in 2002 was chosen for preservation by the National Film Registry, as the Library of Congress declared it to be ‘culturally, historically, and aesthetically significant’.
Reiner recalled how confused audiences were when the original film was initially screened in Dallas.
“People came up to me and said, ‘I don’t understand why you would make a movie about a band that no one has ever heard of and it’s so bad. Why would you do it?'” he said. ‘I said it’s satire and I’d explain it, but it took a while for people to catch on. Now, it’s in the National Film Registry.’
The film was Reiner’s initial effort as a film director, as he has amassed an impressive catalog of films in the 38 years since. These include Stand by Me, The Princess Bride, When Harry Met Sally…, Misery and A Few Good Men, which earned the filmmaker an Oscar nomination for Best Picture.
It’s Spinal Tap II is scheduled to hit theaters on March 19, 2024.
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