Def Leppard Authorized Documentary Heads to Theaters in 2027

Def Leppard is putting its four-decade story on the big screen. Long Live Def Leppard, the British rock band’s first authorized feature-length documentary, is scheduled for a North American theatrical release in early 2027 through Crosswalk, Bleecker Street’s event-cinema division.

Jeff Feuerzeig, whose credits include The Devil and Daniel Johnston and Author: The JT LeRoy Story, directed, wrote and produced the film. The project promises previously unseen footage, fresh interviews and access to the group’s five longtime current members: Joe Elliott, Phil Collen, Rick Savage, Vivian Campbell and Rick Allen.

An underdog story shaped by survival

The documentary will begin with the musicians’ working-class roots in Sheffield and follow their rise through albums including Pyromania and Hysteria. Its announced scope also includes the crises that could have ended the band: Allen’s 1984 car accident and the death of guitarist Steve Clark in 1991.

Rather than presenting a familiar catalogue of rock excess, Feuerzeig has described the film as a warm, funny underdog story about endurance and brotherhood. He first saw the then-emerging band open for Ozzy Osbourne in 1981 and has remained a fan, giving the project a personal connection that stretches back to Def Leppard’s years before global fame.

A cinema release built for longtime fans

Crosswalk has acquired the North American rights and is positioning the documentary as a theatrical event. That approach fits a band whose biggest songs were designed for arenas and whose history now spans more than 110 million albums sold worldwide, two Diamond-certified albums in the United States and a 2019 induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

The film was developed in close collaboration with Def Leppard, but it is not being framed only as a victory lap. By placing personal losses beside the band’s commercial breakthroughs, Long Live Def Leppard has the chance to explain why the same lineup has continued filling large venues long after its 1980s peak. A precise opening date has not yet been announced, leaving early 2027 as the current theatrical window.