A film of Black Sabbath’s final live show is set to be released in theatres early next year. Find out the details below.
The event was held earlier this month at the Villa Park venue in the band’s hometown of Birmingham. With a star-studded line-up boasting names like Guns N’ Roses, KoRn, Tool, Slayer, Pantera, Metallica, Alice In Chains, Gojira, Anthrax, and Aerosmith’s Steven Tyler the gig would go on to become the highest-grossing charity concert of all time, bringing in just under £200million for good causes.
It saw founding members Ozzy Osbourne, Geezer Butler, Tony Iommi and Bill Ward perform together for the first time in two decades, and marked the final concert to be played by Black Sabbath and by Osbourne as a solo artist.
Now, a film documenting the sold-out gig is currently in production from Mercury Studios and set to arrive in cinemas in 2026.
It has a run time of 100minutes, and is described in a new press release as “a love letter to Ozzy and the pioneering sound of Black Sabbath”.
“The theatrical release will be a distilled version of the epic all-day event held at Villa Park,” it added (via Variety). “Featuring thunderous performances of ‘War Pigs,’ ‘Iron Man,’ ‘Children of the Grave’ and a show-stopping ‘Paranoid,’ the film promises a deeply personal and electrifying farewell from the godfather of heavy metal with exclusive behind-the-scenes access and interviews from this iconic live performance.”
Actor Jason Momoa hosted the huge event in Birmingham, and Rage Against The Machine guitarist and soloist Tom Morello served as musical director.
For the four songs Sabbath played, Osbourne remained seated, and highlights of the night included a variety of supergroups formed especially for the occasion.
Yungblud, for example, appeared on the bill as part of ‘Supergroup A’ – forming a band alongside Extreme guitarist Nuno Bettencourt, II from Sleep Token on drums, and Adam Wakeman of Osbourne’s solo band – and son of rock legend Rick – on keys.
They played a cover of ‘Changes’, the Sabbath ballad from their 1972 album ‘Vol. 4’, and dedicated the rendition to the late Liverpool star Diogo Jota, who tragically lost his life in a car accident in northern Spain on Thursday (July 3).
From there, Tool’s Danny Carey, Blink-182’s Travis Barker and Red Hot Chili Peppers’ Chad Smith took part in a drum-off while covering Sabbath’s ‘Symptom Of The Universe’. They were also joined by Morello, bassist Rudy Sarzo (Quiet Riot, Ozzy Osbourne’s solo material), and Bettencourt.
On top of that, Morello, Steven Tyler, Travis Barker and The Rolling Stones’ Ronnie Wood came together to cover Led Zeppelin to the 41,000-strong crowd (and an additional 3million who paid for the livestream).
At time of writing, an exact theatrical release date for the concert film, dubbed Back to the Beginning: Ozzy’s Final Bow, has not yet been confirmed, although it is expected by early 2026. A physical copy of the film will be available at a later date.
In other Black Sabbath news, today (July 18) Yungblud confirmed that he would be sharing his Ozzy Osbourne-approved cover of ‘Changes’ as an official single, with proceeds going to children’s charities.
Just days before then, footage went viral of him gifting the heavy metal pioneer a custom-made gold cross backstage at the show – returning the sentiment after Ozzy gave him a necklace as a good luck charm years ago.
Guns N’ Roses frontman Axl Rose and The Smashing Pumpkins singer Billy Corgan are among the many who have shared what the star-studded show meant to them too.
