Iron Maiden are to have an official documentary made about them, charting their long career as cornerstones of British heavy metal.
The currently untitled film, scheduled for release in cinemas in the autumn to mark Iron Maiden’s 50th anniversary, will feature interviews with the band – including the final interview with early member Paul Di’Anno, who died last year – as they recall their path from grotty east London to five UK No 1 albums and phantasmagoric arena-filling stage shows. Superfans including Kiss’s Gene Simmons, Metallica’s Lars Ulrich and actor Javier Bardem will be on hand for analysis.
As well as archival footage there will be new animated sequences featuring band mascot Eddie, adding up to what promotional materials describe as “a unique visual experience that highlights Iron Maiden’s widespread impact and the strong connection between the band and their truly global army of fans”.
A subsidiary of Universal Pictures will produce the film, which is being directed by Malcolm Venville. The British film-maker is known for his films about even more august historical figures: the 2024 miniseries Churchill at War, and his drama trilogy focusing on the US presidents Ulysses S Grant, Abraham Lincoln and Theodore Roosevelt.
Rod Smallwood, Iron Maiden’s manager, said Venville and his team were given “unrestricted access to the band, our fans and musical peers. We trust that they will excite not only music fans but also anyone who loves a story of an underdog beating the odds.”
While Iron Maiden’s commercial peak was in the 1980s, with hit albums such as The Number of the Beast – a two-time platinum seller in the UK – the band are very much a going concern. Their most recent album, 2021’s Senjutsu, reached No 2 in the UK charts and was critically acclaimed, with the Guardian awarding it five stars and calling it “eccentric, bombastic heavy metal at its finest”.
The band will also mark their 50th anniversary by heading out on a 26th world tour. The first leg of the Run for Your Lives tour begins on 27 May in Budapest and continues throughout Europe until 2 August, including a date at London Stadium on 28 June.
