Peter Jackson Signs On to Direct New Beatles Documentary Based Off ‘Let It Be’ Album

To mark the 50th anniversary of The Beatles’ final public performance, Peter Jackson is set to direct a new documentary about the band’s’ last studio album, Let It Be (via The Wrap).

The band’s Twitter account announced the news today, saying that the new film will be based from around 55 hours of never before seen footage and over 140 hours of audio in the studio. The said studio sessions were shot between January 2nd and January 31st in 1969.

NEW FILM PROJECT – We are proud to announce an exciting new collaboration between The Beatles and the acclaimed Academy Award winning director Sir Peter Jackson. pic.twitter.com/7e0h95FOWV

— The Beatles (@thebeatles) January 30, 2019

The 12th and final Beatles album was released 18 months later in May 1970, almost a month after the band’s break-up. Along with their Grammy-winning title track, The Beatles’ produced iconic songs in the album such as “The Long and Winding Road,” “Across The Universe,” and “Get Back.”

Jackson says in a statement that he is “thrilled and honored” after signing on to direct the new Beatles film. Previously chronicled by British director Michael Lindsay Hogg, the sessions during the production of Let It Be showed the band’s brewing tensions and strained connections. The documentary with the same name as the album was released shortly after in 1970. However, The Lord Of The Rings trilogy director assures that the additional footage will paint a different picture. “Sure, there’s moments of drama – but none of the discord this project has long been associated with,” he said.

“Watching John, Paul, George, and Ringo work together, creating now-classic songs from scratch, is not only fascinating – it’s funny, uplifting and surprisingly intimate,” Jackson added.

The film will be made in cooperation with former band members Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr. John Lennon’s widow, Yoko Ono, and Olivia Harrison, the widow of George Harrison will help Jackson as well. In an interview with Canada’s Radio X, McCartney previously hinted that a more celebratory and uplifting film was in the works than the original Let It Be documentary.

No release date has been announced so far for Jackson’s untitled Beatles documentary film.