Teaser is Shared for Paul McCartney Post-Beatles ‘Man on the Run’ Documentary
by Best Classic Bands Staff
Wings in 1976 (Photo © 1976 MPL Communications Ltd. by Clive Arrowsmith)
Amazon MGM Studios has acquired Man on the Run, described as an intimate feature documentary exploring Paul McCartney’s creative rebirth after The Beatles’ breakup, directed by Academy Award winner Morgan Neville. It’ll make its streaming debut on Prime in February 2026. Watch a teaser clip below.
“How can I ever do anything that’s anywhere near as good as the Beatles?,” McCartney asks rhetorically in the film. “I was on my own for the first time. I had to look inside myself. So I put a new band together.”
The documentary, which premiered Labor Day weekend at the Telluride Film Festival, is the centerpiece of a comprehensive new partnership among McCartney, Universal Music Group, and Amazon that will unfold over the next year, including the release of exclusive music and merchandise from Amazon Music, and one-of-a-kind commentary from McCartney. The partnership coincides with the release of his book Wings: The Story of a Band on the Run, which arrives November 4, 2025, and McCartney’s “Got Back” tour dates across North America this fall. The book is available for pre-order in the U.S. here, in Canada here and in the U.K. here. In addition, a Wings anthology is being released on November 7. The 3-LP collection and 2-CD edition are available for pre-order in the U.S. here, in Canada here and in the U.K. here.
Man on the Run, produced by Tremolo, in association with MPL and Polygram Entertainment, will be released in select theaters and subsequently available on Prime Video February 25, 2026, in more than 240 countries and territories worldwide.
Wings (Photo © 1972 MPL Communications Ltd.)
From the August 29 announcement: Man on the Run takes viewers on an intimate journey through McCartney’s extraordinary life following the breakup of The Beatles and the formation of Wings with his wife, Linda. The film chronicles the arc of McCartney’s solo career as he faces down a myriad of challenges while creating new music to define a new decade. Through unprecedented access to previously unseen footage and rare archival materials, the documentary captures Paul’s transformative post-Beatles era through a uniquely vulnerable lens.
Neville is an Oscar, Emmy, and Grammy Award-winning director and producer best known for his work as a cultural documentarian. His acclaimed film Won’t You Be My Neighbor?, a documentary about Fred Rogers, was released by Focus Features in 2018 and has become one of the best-reviewed and highest-grossing documentaries of all time. His 2013 film, 20 Feet from Stardom, won the Academy Award for Best Documentary, as well as a Grammy Award for Best Music Film. His 2021 film, Roadrunner: A Film About Anthony Bourdain, was the highest grossing documentary of the year. Other films include Keith Richards: Under the Influence. Recent projects include the multiple Emmy-nominated Steve! (Martin) A Documentary in 2 Pieces for Apple TV+ and Bono & The Edge: A Sort of Homecoming with Dave Letterman, a docu-special for Disney +. Most recently Neville’s documentary series, SNL50: Beyond Saturday Night, in cooperation with Lorne Michaels, celebrating the 50th anniversary of Saturday Night Live, streamed exclusively on Peacock in early 2025 and received an Emmy-nomination for Outstanding Documentary Or Nonfiction Series.
5 Comments so far
Jump into a conversationSorry, but hardly anything McCartney did after the Beatles measured up to his greatness while he worked with John Lennon. “Creative rebirth”? Hardly. He’s done well for himself, certainly, but you’ll notice that the vast majority of the songs he now plays on his tours are Beatle tunes. “Maybe I’m Amazed” and “Jet” were pretty good, but most of his post-Beatle stuff was and remains marginal. It seems McCartney really needed Lennon to provide that creative edge. What they had was magic. McCartney after the Beatles? Well, not so much.
What about:
Band on the run
Live and let die
Jenny wren
Calico skies
Junk
Dear boy
Fine line
My brave face
…to name a few
Clearing not a McCartney fan. This man breathes music and is still relevant.
Even without John Lennon.
I love Paul and think he’s amazing and I love a lot of his solo music and I completely agree with you!!
What planet do you live on? Band on the Run is a masterpiece. RAM is fabulous. Chaos and Creation in the Back Yard is a later gem. Songs like Ninteen Hundred and Eighty Five, Let Me Roll It, The Backseat of My Car, Maybe I’m Amazed are examples of greatness. Call Me Back Again is another.
Creative rebirth? Absolutely. Did anything he do after The Beatles measure up? Yeah, some of it did, depending on what it is that you’re comparing. McCartney certainly had the most successful and sustained career after the breakup, and according to the “Man on the Run” book, was rather uncertain of what he could accomplish on his own, so definitely in that regard there was a rebirth (and DEFINITELY with the “Band on the Run” album). Was what he did after The Beatles as good or better? Of course not. But on balance, it was better than what Lennon did. And George, for that matter, once you got past all the Lennon-McCartney rejected songs of “All Things Must Pass”, and at least (maybe) half a good album with “Living in the Material World”. And I won’t even bring up Ringo, other than to say most of his best work (limited as it was) was accomplished with the help of George.