After more than 40 years of clamoring, fans have finally gotten a glimpse at the return of some mock rock legends in the trailer for “Spinal Tap II: The End Continues.”
The trailer for the “This Is Spinal Tap” sequel features the reunion of the iconic band from Rob Reiner’s 1984 directorial debut. Reiner returns to direct, write and star in the long-awaited sequel to his original music mockumentary. Joining him as actors and writers are Christopher Guest, Michael McKean and Harry Shearer — all of whom starred in and co-wrote the original film.
In the new trailer, Reiner returns as Martin “Marty” Di Bergi, a fictional documentarian who “directed” the original documentary about the band Spinal Tap’s 1982 tour for their album “Smell the Glove.” Since the events of the first movie, the members have all gone their separate ways. Footage shows David St. Hubbins (McKean) playing in a mariachi band, Derek Smalls (Shearer) peddling cryptocurrency and Nigel Tufnel (Guest) selling cheese by day and performing pub music by night.
However, Marty and the trio reunite for one final concert set 15 years after their last performance. The band plans to take the stage at Lakefront Arena in New Orleans after a cancellation for the event “An Evening with Stormy Daniels” provides them an opportune vacancy. You can watch the trailer, below.
Several real-world musicians also appear in the trailer alongside the fictional rock group. In an early scene, Paul McCartney praises the band’s poetic lyricism. Later, Questlove turns down the opportunity to become Spinal Tap’s new drummer — a position left once again open after their 11th percussionist “sneezed himself into oblivion.”
Near the trailer’s end, Elton John unites with the band to perform their iconic number, “Stonehenge,” alongside the group. Plus, the iconography of the Wiltshire monument is used to evoke the roman numeral II in the film’s title.
Bleecker Street will release “Spinal Tap II: The End Continues” in theaters on Sept. 12. In early July, the company teamed with Fathom Entertainment to re-release the original “This Is Spinal Tap” in theaters for its 41st anniversary.
