After 40 years, will the speakers go beyond 11? We may find out as a sequel to the 1984 mockumentary This Is Spinal Tap is in the works. According to Deadline, the highly anticipated film is set to be part of the newly relaunched Castle Rock Entertainment division, and Rob Reiner is back to direct and star in the film as documentarian Marty DiBergi.
Speaking with Deadline, Reiner stated, “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 honor the first one and push it a little further with the story.”
The original film starred Michael McKean, Harry Shearer and Christopher Guest as the titular hard rocking metal heroes of Spinal Tap, and all three will reprise their roles as David St. Hubbins, Derek Smalls and Nigel Tufnel. In addition, Guest, McKean and Shearer are teaming up with Reiner to conceive the story of the new film.
The original centered on the trio and their various highs and mishaps within the music industry, with a number of music "in jokes" supplied for years. We're not yet sure if they will have a drummer given their combustible history with previous members that have played behind the kit.
The original film was chosen by the Library of Congress to be preserved by the National Film Registry. The original will also be screened later this month (May 18) at the Cannes Film Festival as part of the Cinema de la Plage sidebar.
Adding more insight to the film, Reiner offered, “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.”
While things aren't necessarily copacetic amongst the band members, they aren't exactly great with DiBergi either. “The band was upset with the first film," explained Reiner. "They thought I did a hatchet job and this is a chance to redeem myself. I am such a big fan and I felt bad they didn’t like what they saw in the first film. When I heard they might get back together, I was a visiting adjunct teacher’s helper at the Ed Wood School of Cinematic Arts. I drop everything to document this final concert.”
Reiner also revealed that he's hoping to add some guest artists to the film, with many a musician over the years sharing with him their "Spinal Tap Moments" from the road.
At present, the film is set to arrive on March 19, 2024, which would be in the 40th anniversary year and month of the original film.
