There's a fine line between stupid and clever, and that precipice is set to be walked like a goddamn tight-rope by the makers of This is Spinal Tap, who are reuniting for a sequel to the cult-classic film they released nearly 40 years ago. As Deadline reports, Spinal Tap director Rob Reiner is once again teaming with the original cast — Michael McKean, Christopher Guest and Harry Scherer — for a new film that's being referred to as Spinal Tap II, and is set to arrive in 2024.
"The plan is to do a sequel that comes out on the 40th anniversary of the original film, " Reiner told Deadline. "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."
Reiner says the full screenplay is still in development, but he did offer a glimpse at the storyline they have so far, which will pick up where the flailing band left off 40 years ago.
"They've played Albert Hall, played Wembley Stadium, all over the country and in Europe," Reiner said. "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."
Reboots are always a crapshoot when it comes to quality — especially when they arrive multiple decades after the initial incarnation. But with the original gang all back together, there's definitely a chance that this could be done right and actually rule. Even if it was half as good as the original Spinal Tap, it'd be a win. Stay tuned for more details.
