Spinal Tap II: The End Continues Has a Rocking First Teaser Trailer

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The moment you first hear about it, the idea of a This Is Spinal Tap legacy sequel more than 40 years after the release of the 1984 original film seems almost painfully embarrassing. And then the more you think about it … the more appropriate it sort of begins to sound? The legendary Rob Reiner rock ‘n’ roll mockumentary is, after all, about a long-in-the-tooth heavy metal act that has gone stale and is struggling to stay relevant, but so deluded that they’re unable to face reality as their music and fandom declines. As the film ends, “the Tap” is saved by a sudden, modest influx of popularity in Japan, and the implication is that their careers will keep right on limping along. And now they’ve apparently limped all the way to 2025, in spectacularly titled sequel Spinal Tap II: The End Continues. An initial teaser for the film was released today, not showing much of anything but simply hinting at the preposterous idea that Spinal Tap could still have something left in the tank.

As could only be the case, the entire original creative team of This Is Spinal Tap is back in action here, including director Reiner and stars Michael McKean, Christopher Guest (himself a prominent director) and Harry Shearer. Like the original film, all share screenwriting credit for The End Continues. The story reportedly concerns the band reuniting “after 15 years”–hah–for one final show, and the film is currently scheduled for theatrical release in the U.S. on Sept. 12, 2025, via Bleecker Street.

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Given that the teaser trailer below doesn’t actually reveal David St. Hubbins, Nigel Tufnel and Derek Smalls in all their glory, we can only guess as to how the band will be depicted in their advanced years: Guest and McKean are currently 77, while Shearer is 81 and has been threatening to quit The Simpsons for more than a decade. God only knows how time has ravaged the members of Spinal Tap, but presumably that will be a source of comedy. Much attention will be paid to the amp in the teaser below now going “past 11” and to the symbol for infinity, but I find myself more curious about how many ill-fated drummers the band will have gone through by 2025–perhaps we’re due for a montage of some outrageous and untimely deaths.

Regardless, Spinal Tap II will surely dredge up some interest, even if Rob Reiner really hasn’t produced any cinema of any particular interest in the last two decades. Check out the teaser footage below.

We Have a Rocking First Teaser for Spinal Tap II: The End Continues