Legendary comedy film director Rob Reiner would never dig up an ancient classic just to cash a second paycheck – again. Well that’s what he claims anyway.
Today marks the release of Spinal Tap II: The End Continues, the sequel to the 1984 cult-hit mockumentary about a declining rock band stumbling through what threatens to be their final tour. While – spoiler alert – David St. Hubbins, Nigel Tufnel, Derek Smalls and Viv Savage managed to pull together and revive Spinal Tap’s live show in Japan by the end of This is Spinal Tap, fans of the film and its fictional band have long assumed that, given the nearly half-century hiatus since their last public appearance, Spinal Tap was done with the big screen once Marty Di Bergi wrapped filming.
That all changed when Reiner and his collaborators won the rights to Spinal Tap and all its trademarks in late 2020, setting the stage for another comeback tour that launches tonight. However, Reiner promised in an interview with PEOPLE that his decision to direct Spinal Tap II: The End Continues does not mean that his other beloved films from the 1980s are in danger for their own geriatric sequel.
Reiner, 78, shot down the idea
Still, Reiner teased, look out for a certain Harry Burns making a cameo in Spinal Tap II.
When asked if When Harry Met Sally II: She’s Still Having It is next on his list of projects, Reiner, 78, shot down the idea, and he somewhat unconvincingly claimed, “I never wanted to do sequels. I don’t like them.” But, for the latest (and possibly not last) Spinal Tap film, Reiner has a caveat, as he added of the new release, “To me, this is more of a ‘Let’s see where they are now,’ than it is a sequel.”
“What kind of sequel do you have 41 years after the first? ‘Oh, we’re trading on it.’ It’s not that,” Reiner insisted of Spinal Tap II, “Like I said, it’s got to be a standalone. No, I don’t usually think of that.” Reiner then vaguely said of how he decides to start projects, “I try to figure out where is my mind at that point, and can I find a way to push my own mind and sensibility into whatever it is I’m trying to do. If I can figure out how to do that, I’ll make a film.”
Whatever that means, it’s clear that When Harry Met Sally has not satisfied the undefined criteria that would earn further consideration from its director. However, star Billy Crystal doesn’t stray far from his old pal Reiner, as the latter revealed that, after Crystal made a brief cameo as a waiter dressed as a mime in This is Spinal Tap, the now-77-year-old film legend has another blink-and-you’ll-miss-it appearance in Spinal Tap II. “I still see Billy – I had breakfast with him two days ago,” Reiner revealed.
Hopefully Meg Ryan never joins them for that breakfast – we need to convince her that Reiner and Crystal’s breakfast spot only has whipped cream out of a can.