The sequel to This Is Spinal Tap finally has an official title and release date. Spinal Tap II: The End Continues is slated to hit US theaters on September 12. The news was unveiled in a teaser trailer that shows a hand turning an amp up to 11 (a reference to the original) then to infinity as a crowd cheers in the background. After the sound's been cranked, Spinal Tap's song "Stonehenge" begins to play (again, calling back to the original). The tag line in the YouTube caption reads: "This time, we're going beyond 11."
Watch the teaser trailer below.
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 director Rob 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.”
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.”