Trafalgar Releasing has announced the official title, key artwork and North American theatrical plans for the upcoming Iron Maiden feature documentary, now titled Iron Maiden: Burning Ambition.
Documenting one of the most iconic journeys in music history, the film is set to hit cinemas worldwide for a limited time only from 7 May 2026, with tickets going on sale 18 March.
Directed by Malcolm Venville (Churchill at War) and produced by Dominic Freeman (Spirits in the Forest – A Depeche Mode Film), the feature-length documentary charts Iron Maiden’s remarkable five-decade journey.
“The journey to make Iron Maiden: Burning Ambition began not with the band, but with the fans,” Director Malcolm Venville told MetalTalk. “Our first interviews were with members of the Iron Maiden fan club, and it quickly became clear that this was not simply a loyal audience. What we were seeing was a global culture.
“When Maiden go on tour, their fans travel with them, not to one or two shows but across entire tours and continents. They form friendships, communities, and in many cases build their lives around the music.
“The Iron Maiden audience is more complex than the stereotypes that surround Heavy Metal. Maiden fans come from every walk of life, from street vendors to politicians. Both the Japanese and Canadian prime ministers have publicly declared themselves Maiden fans. There is, as one interviewee describes it, a kind of shared Maiden DNA that binds
people across geography, class and culture.
“It felt right, therefore, that we start with the fans themselves. Filmed in a simple studio environment without distractions so that their voices could carry the narrative, theirtestimonies guide us from the band’s beginnings in the East London pub-rock scene of the mid-1970s to vast stadium shows where Iron Maiden performed to millions of people.
“What inspired me most about Iron Maiden was their absolute independence. From the beginning, they wrote and produced their music according to their own instincts. They never softened their sound or reshaped themselves to suit the music industry. While many Metal bands changed their image during the hair-metal MTV era, Maiden simply carried on, unmoved by the moral panic, often called the ‘Satanic panic’, that surrounded their album artwork.
“Their songs drew on history, literature, war, mythology and philosophy, subjects rarely found in popular music. At the heart of the band is a creative tension between two very different personalities: Steve Harris and Bruce Dickinson. Harris is calm, phlegmatic and deeply private, the architect of the band’s musical vision.
“Vocalist Dickinson is the opposite: volcanic, theatrical and endlessly energetic. Their relationship forms one of the central dramatic threads of the film. When Dickinson left in the early 1990s, at a time when grunge had pushed Heavy Metal to the margins, many fans felt the band had lost its centre. And yet Maiden endured, touring relentlessly and continuing to record.
“When Dickinson returned to Maiden for the album Brave New World, it marked not just a reunion, but a rebirth. The band were more comfortable recording audio only interviews, which at first seemed like a limitation but proved liberating. Without the pressure of the camera, they spoke more freely and their reflections became more intimate and revealing. The film became a story of rise, fall and resurgence told through the band’s voices rather than faces.
“One of the most poignant interviews is with the original Maiden vocalist, Paul Di’Anno. It would prove to be his final interview, in which he speaks with striking honesty about his time in the band and the circumstances of his departure.
“But the band’s reluctance to appear on camera also led us to another essential figure in the story: the band’s mascot, Eddie. As the band’s manager Rod Smallwood explains, Eddie was created partly to counterbalance the shy, reserved nature of Steve Harris. Appearing
on nearly every album and single cover, Eddie became the band’s public face and mythic alter ego.
“His evolution across the artwork, originally created by Derek Riggs, mirrors the history of the band itself. We created animated sequences that echo Maiden’s iconic album art over the years, using Eddie as a visual guide through the story of Iron Maiden.
“Ultimately, Iron Maiden: Burning Ambition is about endurance: a band that refused to follow the changing fashions of music and a global audience that found identity, friendship and meaning in their music. It is the story of a shared culture, built over fifty years, between a group of musicians from East London and millions of listeners around the world.”
Alongside the band, the documentary features on-camera reflections from prominent admirers including Javier Bardem, Lars Ulrich and Chuck D, each speaking about Iron Maiden’s influence on music, culture and generations of fans worldwide.
The newly released key art by Albert Akirant Quirantes offers the first visual look at the documentary.
The documentary arrives as the band continues its two-year Run For Your Lives world tour, which included a homecoming performance at London Stadium, a short distance from where it all began five decades ago.
A recently announced, one-of-a-kind celebration named EddFest in historic Knebworth Park, England, on 11 July 2026 forms part of more than 50 shows worldwide in 2026.
In Cinemas From 7 May 2026
- Release date: 7 May 2026 (limited time only)
- Tickets on sale: 18 March
- Updates: www.ironmaidenfilm.com
About Iron Maiden: Burning Ambition
- Directed by: Malcolm Venville
- Produced by: Dominic Freeman
- Featuring: Steve Harris, Dave Murray, Adrian Smith, Bruce Dickinson, Nicko McBrain, Janick Gers, Rod Smallwood, Javier Bardem, Lars Ulrich, Chuck D
Synopsis: With unprecedented access to official band archives, Iron Maiden: Burning Ambition charts five decades of one of the most iconic journeys in music history. Featuring interviews with the band and contributors such as Javier Bardem, Lars Ulrich and Chuck D, this electrifying film offers an intimate look at their uncompromising vision and unwavering connection with their global army of fans.
