Brett Morgen found the footage while making Moonage Daydream, and then he sat on it for about ten years. Now we know why. It was never going to be a bonus feature.
On October 27 the David Bowie Estate announced David Bowie in "Stage," an arena-sized presentation built from previously unseen 35mm film of Bowie's 1978 Isolar II tour, shot at London's Earls Court while he was promoting "Heroes." It world premieres on February 14, 2027, at Uber Arena in Berlin, as part of the 77th Berlin International Film Festival.
What it actually is
This is not a new concert and not a hologram. The official description is a film shown across multiple screens, including transparent LED displays meant to make Bowie and his band look physically present on stage, with a synchronized lighting show and a 7.1 surround mix. Think of it as a concert film that has been taken out of the cinema and rebuilt as a live event. Morgen has spent nearly a decade editing, color grading and hand-painting the footage, and the cuts are longer and uninterrupted to give it a real-time feel.
The band is the one that toured: Carlos Alomar (musical director), Adrian Belew, George Murray, Dennis Davis, Roger Powell, Sean Mayes and Simon House. The named songs include "Ziggy Stardust," "Rebel Rebel," "Fame," and "The Jean Genie," plus material from Low and "Heroes." Patrick Woodroffe handles lighting and Paul Massey the sound mix. Rob Hallett's Wonderworld is producing with the Bowie Estate, and venues start at around 5,000 capacity.
Bowie at the O’Keefe Centre, Toronto, 1976 (not from the 1978 footage). Photo: Jean-Luc Ourlin / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 2.0. Featured image: Bowie in 1974, public domain (ABC Television), via Wikimedia Commons.
Why the Berlinale
The footage is from London, but Berlin is where the Low and "Heroes" story lives, and that is the link the festival is leaning on. It is also a quietly interesting choice for a film festival to host a show that is not, strictly, a film. Morgen has made a career of treating archival material as raw paint, and Moonage Daydream was already closer to an experience than a documentary. This is the logical next step: the cinema screen was the constraint.
What we don't know yet
Only Berlin is confirmed. The release says the show is meant for arenas worldwide, but no other cities or dates have been announced. Eventim lists a presale that opened October 28 and a general sale on Friday, October 30. One aggregator noted a third-party page marking Berlin "sold out," so check the official ticketing page before planning around it.
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The question I keep coming back to is how much of the original film survives once it is painted, regraded and stretched across LED walls. That is either the point or the risk, and we won't know until February.