Film director Rob Reiner has revealed that Paul McCartney, Elton John and Garth Brooks will be among the cast when the long-waited sequel to the classic This Is Spinal Tap hits the big screen.
Reiner made the comments on the latest episode of the RHLSTP with Richard Herring podcast, and confirmed that filming will commence in February.
Planned to coincide with the 40th anniversary of the original film, Spinal Tap II (we're assuming that's the title, at least for now) will reunite David St. Hubbins (Michael McKean), Nigel Tufnel (Christopher Guest) and Derek Smalls (Harry Shearer) for the first time since the trio performed an acoustic set at the 2019 Tribeca Film Festival. Reiner, meanwhile, will reprise his original role as mockumentarian Marty DiBergi.
"When it was announced that Spinal Tap would reunite for one final concert, Marty DeBergi saw this as a chance to make things right with the band who viewed This Is Spinal Tap as a hatchet job," Reiner said last year. "So he left his position as visiting adjunct teacher’s assistant at the Ed Wood School of Cinematic Arts in pursuit of film history."
The sequel will tell the story of Spinal Tap's bitter reunion, as they reconvene to play a contractual obligation show following the death of their long-suffering manager, Ian Faith - originally played by actor Tony Hendra, who passed away in March 2021.
Spinal Tap II will also deal with the fallout from the original movie, exploring the band's concern about the way they were depicted on their disastrous American tour. In the years since, Spinal Tap have described DiBergi's film as "a hatchet job."
In other Spinal Tap news, bassist Derek Smalls has launched a deluxe version of his 2018 solo album Smalls Change (Meditations Upon Ageing). The new version of the album features two previously unreleased live tracks – Hell’s Toupee and She Puts the Bitch in Obituary – both recorded at the the Palace Theatre in Los Angeles with the Hungarian Studio Orchestra. It's available to pre-order now, and a live video for Hell's Toupee is below.
“As a rock’n’roller, I really never expected to make it past 27,” says Smalls. “Here I am with all 10 fingers and all five strings, still ready to rock. Maybe my colleagues are getting older too. So, I’d say, it’s time to rock some more."
In September, Smalls released his first new song since the 2018 album, Must Crush Barbie.
