‘Spinal Tap II: The End Continues’ Trailer Arrives With Familiar Wit
by Best Classic Bands Staff
Christopher Guest, Michael McKean and Harry Shearer—in a scene from the original—will be joined by Paul McCartney and Elton John, among others, in Spinal Tap II: The End Continues.
They’re turning it back up to 11! The most beloved rock mockumentary of all-time, 1984’s This Is Spinal Tap, is finally getting a sequel, with original stars Michael McKean (as David St. Hubbins), Christopher Guest (Nigel Tufnel), and Harry Shearer (Derek Smalls) all onboard. And this time, they’ll be joined by Paul McCartney, Elton John, Garth Brooks, Questlove and others.
Rob Reiner, who directed—and co-wrote the original with Guest, McKean and Shearer—has once again directed the reboot, Spinal Tap II: The End Continues. (He will recreate his role as filmmaker Marty DiBergi, from the original.) It opens September 12, 2025. The first official trailer was released on July 24. Watch it below.
The film, which will revolve around the faux-hard rock band planning one final concert, was originally set to premiere on March 19, 2024, just a couple of weeks after the 40th anniversary of the original film’s debut.
Related: Guest, Shearer and McKean reunited in 2019 for a special 35th anniversary performance
“I can tell you hardly a day goes by without someone saying, why don’t you do another one?” Reiner told Deadline when the sequel was announced in 2022. “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.”
Reiner continued: “They’ve played Albert Hall, played Wembley Stadium, all over the country and in Europe. They haven’t spent any time together recently, and that became the premise. The idea was that Ian Faith, who was their manager, he passed away. In reality, Tony Hendra passed away [in 2021]. Ian’s widow inherited a contract that said Spinal Tap owed them one more concert. She was basically going to sue them if they didn’t. All these years and a lot of bad blood we’ll get into and they’re thrown back together and forced to deal with each other and play this concert.”
Watch the original film’s classic “Hello Cleveland” scene. “Go straight ahead… turn right at the next two corners…”
Watch the famous Stonehenge scene from This Is Spinal Tap
The original film was produced on a shoestring budget of $2.25 million. The 2025 film was reportedly made for $22 million, still very low by today’s standards.
In 2002,This Is Spinal Tap‘s lasting appeal led the U.S. Library of Congress to designate it as a culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant film.
A new book about This Is Spinal Tap is coming in conjunction with the eagerly awaited sequel. For the first time, director Reiner and co-creators Guest, McKean, and Shearer provide the full behind-the-scenes story of the making of the groundbreaking film and its upcoming sequel, Spinal Tap II: The End Continues.
A Fine Line Between Stupid and Clever: The Story of Spinal Tap, via Gallery Books, arrives September 9, 2025. It’s available for pre-order in the U.S. here, in Canada here and in the U.K. here.
5 Comments so far
Jump into a conversationLoved, and could relate to, the original Tap film.
Looking forward to the return of Spinal Tap, and turning my home theater amp up to 11 once again
I will purchase a whole new 11.4 home theater system with massive Klipsch floor standing speakers. The amplifier will be custom built so it plays up to 12!
Yay! Spinal Tap 2 Should be Dolby I mean doubly Great!
Maybe AI could let Fred Willard make a cameo
Please release it on Laserdisc.