Yesterday we got official news of the sequel to the iconic movie This Is Spinal Tap. The movie is called Spinal Tap II: The End Continues and will hit theaters September 12 of 2025. This article from Consequence Of Sound lays out a lot of the details.

This sequel, which comes 41 years after the original, features the three main actors from the original film all taking up their roles again – Christopher Guest as Nigel Tufnel, Michael McKean as David St. Hubbins and Harry Shearer as Derek Smalls. Rob Reiner is again both in the director’s chair and also resuming his on-screen role as mockumentary host Marty Di Bergi.

The first movie featured an array of special guests from both the acting and music worlds, and the new Spinal Tap will feature a few returning guests and several new ones. Coming back to the film are Fran Drescher and Paul Shaffer. Drescher is confirmed to reprise her role as “the hostess with the mostess” Bobbi Flekman, while it’s not entirely confirmed if Shaffer will be back as the useless record label rep Artie Fufkin. (I would assume he is)

We do have quite the roll call for new guests in this second film. No less than Paul McCartney and Elton John will drop by, as well as Garth Brooks and Trisha Yearwood, Questlove, Chad Smith and Lars Ulrich. That’s a pretty titanic guest list and it’s most likely that we don’t have all the details on guest shots right now. And it sets up a funny possibility – both Chad Smith and Lars Ulrich are drummers, and Spinal Tap lore is not kind to drummers. Lars might meet the fictional end that some cynical Metallica fans have been longing for. (not me, I think he’s fine)

There are a host of other actors who will take up new roles, which is fairly obvious since this is a new story set a ways beyond the initial film. But there will sadly be a handful of both regular cast and guests who cannot make the sequel as they are no longer with us – Tony Hendra (Ian Faith) and R.J. Parnell (Mick Shrimpton) are gone, as are guests Bruno Kirby, Fred Willard and Howard Hesseman. (this is not a comprehensive list, the cast list for the first movie is pretty big)

In preparation for the new film, the original This Is Spinal Tap will get a new showing in theaters and then a digital and streaming release this summer.

Of course people are wondering if a sequel is really necessary, especially after this long, and if it will be worthwhile. There are several cynical comments about the new film, but with this being the Internet in 2025, those kind of comments are unavoidable. Plenty of others seem excited by the prospect of the new film, I among them. No, I don’t expect this to be as good as the first film or even nearly as so. That was a cultural moment that is unable to be replicated. But I do expect that the people involved can make an entertaining and amusing film that does justice to the Spinal Tap legacy. I’m not worried about that at all and I fully expect to enjoy the new film. These folks know what they’re doing and I don’t anticipate any real letdown here.

There’s not much left to do besides wait for the film. We don’t have a trailer yet, just a small teaser video included below. We just have to get through the summer so we can tap into another slab of hilarious rock and roll.