Director Rob Reiner and actor/writers Michael McKean, Christopher Guest, and Harry Shearer will reunite for the upcoming film, Spinal Tap II. Details of the long-awaited sequel to the 1984 comedy classic, This Is Spinal Tap, were confirmed by Deadline.
In addition to directing, Rob Reiner will return in the role of documentary filmmaker Martin Di Bergi. In This Is Spinal Tap, Di Bergi joined the hapless English hard rock group, Spinal Tap, on their 1982 United States concert tour. McKean, Guest and Shearer played Spinal Tap’s core members, guitarist/vocalists David St. Hubbins and Nigel Tufnel, and bass player Derek Smalls, respectively.
Reiner began his career as an actor; with This Is Spinal Tap, he launched a successful directing career. His directing portfolio includes Stand By Me (1986), The Princess Bride (1987), When Harry Met Sally… (1989), A Few Good Men (1992) and The Bucket List (2007).
Speaking to Deadline regarding Spinal Tap II, Reiner said, “The plan is to do a sequel that comes out on the 40th anniversary of the original film, 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 honour the first one and push it a little further with the story.”
This Is Spinal Tap will mark its 40th anniversary on 2nd March, 2024. Earlier this month, drummer Ric Parnell, who played Spinal Tap drummer Mick Shrimpton in the 1984 film, died at the age of 70.
