Photo: Archive Photos
Spinal Tap II began production last spring, and director Rob Reiner is letting fans know what the band's members have been up to in the 40 years since This Is Spinal Tap came out.
“Nigel [Tufnel, played by Christopher Guest] has been running a cheese and guitar shop in Berwick-upon-Tweed. He’s also been performing with a local folk band in the village that play penny whistle and mandolin, and he plays electric guitar with them. We show a little clip of that," Reiner explained in a recent interview with Empire. “David St. Hubbins [played by Michael McKean] has been living in Morro Bay in California, and he’s been writing music for podcasts, particularly this one true-crime podcast called 'The Trouble With Murder.' He also writes the music that you hear when you’re on hold on the phone."
“Derek [Smalls, played by Harry Shearer] is living in London and is now the curator of the New Museum of Glue. He’s curated glue from every country in the world – the whole history of glue – and he shows me around," he added, "He’s also been performing with a philharmonic orchestra, and he’s written this kind of symphony about the fact that the devil wears a bad hair piece. It’s called Hell Toupée.”
Reiner also explained that the idea for the sequel came when Tony Hendra, who played Spinal Tap's manager Ian Faith in the original, died in 2021. “[W]e came up with this idea that Ian Faith had willed his daughter, Hope, this contract that called for one more performance," he said. “She thinks initially, ‘Well, this is not really worth anything…’ But then some big music star, while screwing around at a sound check, is filmed on an iPhone singing a Tap song, and it goes wild on social media. All of a sudden, the contract is worth something.”
The sequel was confirmed in 2022. In addition to the original cast reuniting, Spinal Tap II will also feature a bunch of star-studded cameos, including Elton John and Paul McCartney, who Reiner said are both great at improv.
“We came up with a good idea for Paul, and he was excited to do it. And we had a great idea for Elton. They’re both terrific in the film, both comfortable just talking off the cuff,” he said before adding that they'll both also be featured on the soundtrack. “[I]t’ll have a couple of cuts by Elton John and one cut by Paul McCartney – songs that they sing in the film, which aren’t Spinal Tap-type songs, they’re ones that people know. But the rest of them are new.”
He even shared an example of one of the new songs, saying: “There’s a scene where Henry Diltz, the very famous rock photographer, takes them to a cemetery in New Orleans. Nigel’s like, ‘Why are we here? All these people are dead.’ And Henry says, ‘Well, you’ve got to get used to this idea. You know, it’s going to happen.’ Then Derek has this idea of what it’s going to be like after he dies. So he’s got this song called ‘Rockin’ In The Urn’ which is all about the fact that even after he’s dead, he’s still going to be performing.”
Spinal Tap II is set to come out in 2025.