Film director Rob Reiner has confirmed that Paul McCartney, Elton John and Garth Brooks will be joining the cast of the This Is Spinal Tap sequel. The 76-year-old commented on this project in the latest episode of the podcast “RHLSTP” with Richard Herring: “We are making a sequel. We start filming at the end of February. And everyone is back. Paul McCartney joins us, as does Elton John and a few other surprises. Garth Brooks, for example.”
In 2022, Reiner first revealed that he was working on a sequel to his 1984 film, considered a pioneer in the field of “mockumentary.”
“Spinal Tap II”: This will happen in the sequel
Director Rob Reiner announced a sequel just in time for the 40th anniversary of the film’s premiere in 1984. In Spinal Tap II, Reiner returns to the camera as both a filmmaker and an aging rocker, alongside Michael McKean, Harry Shearer and Christopher Guest, the chaotic hard rock warriors of yesteryear.
“The plan is to make a sequel that will be released on the 40th anniversary of the original film,” Reiner told Deadline in May 2022. “I can tell you that hardly a day goes by where someone doesn’t say, ‘Why don’t you do another one? For so many years we said ‘no’. It took a while until we came up with the right idea of how we could do this. You don’t want to just do it that way, you want to honor the first story and take it a little further with the plot.”
The sequel tells the story of Spinal Tap’s bitter reunion as they come together for a contracted show after their long-time manager Ian Faith – originally portrayed by Tony Hendra, who passed away in March 2021 – dies.
The first part of the film, “This Is Spinal Tap” (alternative title: “The Boys from Spinal Tap”), is a mockumentary from 1984. In it, the fictional heavy metal band (spelled “Spın̈al Tap”) is played on a accompanied on tour. The comedy was the film debut of director Rob Reiner, who later had numerous cinema hits, from “Stand By Me” to “Harry and Sally” to “Saying the Best for Last”.