Turn those amps up to 11: comedy rockers Spinal Tap are reuniting for a new film.
The fictional British metal band (comprised of Michael McKean as singer David St. Hubbins, Christopher Guest as guitarist Nigel Tufnel, Harry Shearer as bassist Derek Smalls and a series of chronically unlucky drummers) will begin production on a sequel to This is Spinal Tap, a 1984 mockumentary. Rob Reiner will return as both real-life director of the film and the on-screen director Marty DiBergi; the cast and crew are aiming for a 2024 release, to tie to the 40th anniversary of the original.
"Hardly a day goes by without someone saying, why don’t you do another one?" Reiner told Deadline. "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.”
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Reiner said the film will revolve around the band reuniting after years of estrangement for a contractually-obligated concert. (In reality, the group have reunited several times, releasing albums in 1992 and 2009 and even touring in support of the latter.) Reiner said he expects the film to boast cameos from rockers and other comedians, likely drawing on many real-life stories of musicians while on tour - many of whom have cited the film as an unusually accurate depiction of the sillier side of rock.
Though not a blockbuster upon original release, This is Spinal Tap was selected for preservation in the Library of Congress' National Film Registry in 2002, kick-starting the careers of Shearer (known for dozens of voices on The Simpsons) and Guest (who would write and direct a spate of acclaimed mockumentaries, including Waiitng for Guffman, Best in Show and A Mighty Wind).
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