Berlin, Germany (October 28, 2026)—More than a decade after his passing, David Bowie is still revered as one of the Classic Rock era’s great live performers. Now modern audiences will get an opportunity to see for themselves with Stage, an immersive, multimedia concert film capturing the singer’s 1978 Isolar II tour. Instead of being shown in your local multiplex, however, the film will tour the world for screenings in 5,000-plus capacity arenas and auditoriums, where it will be presented with full-scale concert P.A., video and lighting systems.
Bowie was a performer with a big personality, and the scale of the Stage touring production plans to match that. Aiming to create the illusion that Bowie and his band are physically on stage, the film will be presented across 2,800 Unilumin/Roe full-range transparent LED screens in a 40×70 grid.
Supporting the illusion, the film will feature a 7.1 spatial audio mix heard via flown line arrays provided by Clair Global. The film is being mixed by Oscar-winning sound engineer Paul Massey, known for his work on Bohemian Rhapsody, No Time to Die and the 2022 David Bowie documentary Moonage Daydream.
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While Stage shares its name with Bowie’s 1978 live album recorded in Philadelphia, the film is instead built from extensive footage of two concerts from the artist’s three-night-stand at London’s Earl’s Court that year. Intending to release a concert film in 1979, Bowie had the shows captured on 35mm by director David Hemmings, who he had recently worked with on the drama Just A Gigolo, and the sound was recorded by legendary producer Tony Visconti. Ultimately, however, the singer opted to start recording 1979’s Lodger instead and the film was shelved indefinitely.
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In 2017, director Brett Morgen began working on what would become Moonage Daydream and came across the footage in the artist’s archives, where it had sat untouched for decades. Screening the reels, he discovered crisply shot film and clean audio capturing the artist backed by a crack band that included Adrian Belew (lead guitar), Carlos Alomar (rhythm guitar/musical director), George Murray (bass), Dennis Davis (drums), Roger Powell (keyboards/synthesizer), Sean Mayes (piano), and Simon House (electric violin).
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In the years since then, the footage has been restored, with reportedly more than 1,000 hours put into color-grading alone, with an aim of recreating the 1978 performances with clarity and sound befitting a 2026 production. The filmmakers plan to use long, uninterrupted takes of Bowie in order to create the feel of a real-time live performance, and in addition to the extensive real-world video and audio tech in play, the show will also make use of lighting by lighting designer Patrick Woodroffe.
Fittingly, given Bowie’s creative ties to the city, Stage will debut in February 2027 at Berlin’s Uber Arena as part of the Berlin Film Festival, before touring the world.
