After much discussion about when or even if it was ever going into production, it has been formally announced that This is Spinal Tap 2, the official sequel to the classic 1984 faux documentary - or, if you will, "mockumentary" - has finally begun filming... and, appropriately, it has done so almost exactly 40 years since the release of the original film.
The sequel, which is filming in New Orleans, finds Rob Reiner returning to the director’s chair, both for the film as well as in his role as documentarian Marty DiBergi.
Rob Reiner, director of "This Is Spinal Tap" as well as the currently-filming "This Is Spinal Tap 2"
In a statement, Reiner said, “I recently spoke to Marty DiBergi who said that he was more than happy to take a sabbatical from his position as a visiting Professor’s Assistant at the Ed Wood School of Cinematic Arts to once again document Spinal Tap to ensure their place in the pantheon of Rock and Roll.”
Also returning, thankfully, are the three key members of Spinal Tap: Christopher Guest as Nigel Tufnel, Michael McKean as David St. Hubbins, and Harry Shearer as Derek Smalls. There is currently no word as to who will be serving as the band’s current drummer...or possibly drummers, given their unfortunate history with maintaining consistency behind the kit.
On the other hand, the production has confirmed a few more cameos for the film. In addition to Garth Brooks, Elton John, and Paul McCartney, all of which were mentioned in previous conversations about the film, it has now been revealed that Questlove and Tricia Yearwood will be making appearances as well.
"The plan is to do a sequel that comes out on the 40th anniversary of the original film," Reiner told Deadline in 2022. "And I can tell you hardly a day goes by without someone saying, why don’t you do another one? For so many years, we said, ‘nah.’ It wasn’t until we came up with the right idea how to do this. You don’t want to just do it, to do it. You want to honor the first one and push it a little further with the story."
The premise for the new film, which was jointly conceived by Reiner, Guest, McKean, and Shearer, involves the members of Spinal Tap reuniting following a 15-year hiatus for one final concert.
Interestingly, however, Reiner's comments about the idea of doing a sequel would seem to imply that one has never been done. In fact, there was a sequel done in 1992 called - what else? - The Return of Spinal Tap, which was initially issued on home video and later aired in syndication under the title A Spinal Tap Reunion: The 25th Anniversary London Sell-Out.
The same year, Spinal Tap released a new studio album entitled Break Like the Wind, and in addition to making videos for the singles and appearing on various talk shows, they also performed at the Freddie Mercury Tribute, performing a new song entitled "The Majesty of Rock" and informing the audience, "Although we didn't know Freddie Mercury personally, everyone in the band loves his music very much, so in his honor we have decided to cut our set short by about 35 songs."
In 2009, the band released Back from the Dead, a new album which contained a mixture of re-recordings from the original film's soundtrack and Break Like the Wind along with a few new songs. One of those tracks, "Short and Sweet," which - in typical Spinal Tap fashion - is actually over six minutes long - can be found as a packaged song in Lego Rock Band. The album was nominated for a Grammy for Best Comedy Album.
Never miss a story — sign up for the Q newsletter for the latest music news on all your favorite artists, all in one place.
Powered by RedCircle
