Official Dio documentary set for release at the end of the summer

Ronnie James Dio and an official poster for his documentary

(Image credit: Mark Weiss/Getty Images | BMG)

The official Ronnie James Dio documentary, DIO: Dreamers Never Die, will be officially released at the end of the summer.

The late vocalist's wife and manager Wendy Dio revealed the news during an interview on Iowa radio station Lazer 103.3.

"We did a lot of different film festivals," she said. "You go to film festivals to get a buyer for the film. And we have secured a buyer. And it will come out at the end of summer in theatres; it'll be in theatres the end of summer."

According to IMDb, the film will be released in North American cinemas on September 1.

Originally announced in February 2020, and co-directed by Don Argott and Demian Fenton, the 113-minute film promises to be "the definitive Ronnie James Dio documentary, incorporating never-before-seen archival footage and photos from his personal archives."

After being shown the first cut of the film, Wendy described the documentary as “very emotional.”

“[It] goes all the way through his life till the end,” she said on The Lucas H. Gordon Show. “I was watching it with my publicist and a person from BMG, who are funding the documentary, and we all cried.”

The documentary will feature interviews with Rob Halford, Dio’s former Black Sabbath bandmates Geezer Butler, Tony Iommi, Vinny Appice, Jack Black, Lita Ford and more.

Check out this video filmed at the film's world premiere at the SXSW festival in Austin, Texas in March this year:

Born in 1976 in Newcastle-upon-Tyne, Simon Young has been a music journalist for over twenty-six years. His fanzine, Hit A Guy With Glasses, enjoyed a one-issue run before he secured a job at Kerrang! in 1999. His writing has also appeared in Classic Rock, Metal Hammer, Prog, and Planet Rock. His first book, So Much For The 30 Year Plan: Therapy? — The Authorised Biography is available via Jawbone Press.