‘This is Spinal Tap’ Sequel to Include Paul McCartney, Elton John Cameos
by Best Classic Bands Staff
Christopher Guest, Michael McKean and Harry Shearer will be joined by Paul McCartney and Elton John, among others, in Spinal Tap II
They’re turning it back up to 11! The original team behind the most beloved rock mockumentary of all-time, 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 and others.
Rob Reiner, who directed This Is Spinal Tap, is set to direct the reboot, scheduled to begin filming in February. (He will also act in the film as filmmaker Marty DiBergi, the role he played in the original.) Reiner shared the news of the sequel’s guest stars in an interview on Richard Herring’s Leicester Square Theatre podcast.
“Everybody is back,” said Reiner, as transcribed by the Liverpool Echo. “Paul McCartney is joining and Elton John, and a few other surprises [including] Garth Brooks,” he said, referring to the Spinal Tap II cameo appearances.
The film, which will revolve around the faux-hard rock band planning one final concert, is 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. 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.”
Related: Tony Hendra, who played Spinal Tap’s manager, died in 2021
Watch the classic “Hello Cleveland” scene. “Go straight ahead… turn right at the next two corners…”
In 2002, the film’s lasting appeal led the U.S. Library of Congress to designate it as a culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant film.
The original film was produced on a shoestring budget of $2.25 million.
Watch the famous Stonehenge scene from This Is Spinal Tap
4 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