Fresh off his Rock & Roll Hall of Fame nomination, Billy Idol Should Be Dead hits theaters this week
It’s wanting like 2026 is certain to be the 12 months of Billy Idol. The icon simply secured a nomination for the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, and is the topic of the brand new documentary Billy Idol Should Be Dead.
Directed by Jonas Åkerlund, the trailer options stars like Miley Cyrus (who linked up with Idol on her 2020 track “Night Crawling“), Green Day’s Billie Joe Armstrong, and Guns N’ Roses’ Duff McKagan, who discuss Idol’s impact and influence. “I watch Billy Idol footage like it’s porn,” Cyrus says. “There’s no one hotter than Billy-fucking-Idol.”
The trailer opens with footage of an interview with a younger Idol, the place the journalist asks Idol what he’d do with the cash if he turned a rock star. “I’d spend it on drugs,” he tells him. The remainder of the clip is spent exploring his profession — from his MTV superstardom to his motorbike accident in 1990 — and the way he’s lived 9 lives. “It’s easy to say it’s the drugs,” he says within the clip, throughout animation. “But what about if it’s me? What about if it’s me doing this?”
Earlier this week, Billy Idol Should Be Dead debuted in theaters in Los Angeles and New York City, with a wide-release deliberate for Thursday. His Rock & Roll Hall of Fame nod marks the second time he’s been nominated. Other nominees this 12 months embody Phil Collins, Oasis, Sade, Mariah Carey, Pink, Shakira, Iron Maiden, Lauryn Hill, Black Crowes, Jeff Buckley, Melissa Etheridge, Joy Division/New Order, New Edition, Luther Vandross, and Wu-Tang Clan. Hopefully, 2026 is Idol’s 12 months.
