LINKIN PARK have announced Unshatter, a documentary opening in theaters on September 30 that covers the years between Chester Bennington's death in 2017 and the band's return in 2024. Tickets go on sale August 13.
The film is directed by Joseph Hahn, LINKIN PARK's DJ and creative director, and follows the band from intimate 2022 studio sessions through the From Zero album release and the launch concert in São Paulo. It weaves rare vault footage, live performances from sold-out shows and candid interviews with band members and fans.
"'Unshatter' follows a very particular moment in LINKIN PARK's history and documents a path through loss, uncertainty, friendship, and reinvention," Hahn said. "I hope longtime fans see parts of our journey they've never seen before, and I hope people who are just discovering our music come away with a better understanding of how we got here. But even beyond LINKIN PARK, I hope people connect with it as a story about relationships, resilience, and what it really takes to move forward when you don't have all the answers."
Mike Shinoda told BBC News that the footage exists almost by accident. "Even before Chester passed away, it was kind of Joe being a filmmaker. He always wanted to do something that kind of explained our universe to people. And then after Chester passed, everything was just, like… We didn't even think we had a band anymore, so everything just kind of went away."
That changed as the band reassembled around DEAD SARA vocalist Emily Armstrong and drummer Colin Brittain. "As things started to come back together, and we met Colin, and we met Emily, and we started to make music and the album became a reality, we were filming things," Shinoda said. "People wanna know, like, how did you pick up the pieces after this tragedy and losing your friend and co-founder of this thing that we spent 20 years with? How do you go from that to Wembley?"
He was blunt about the tone. "Don't think reality TV. It's literally our friend Mark who did most of the filming. It's one guy. We hang out with him all the time."
An accompanying release, Unshatter Film Soundtrack (Live In São Paulo), collects performances spanning the band's full career, including recordings not heard in the film. A live version of "Somewhere I Belong" is available now as a preview.
LINKIN PARK introduced the current lineup at a September 2024 live event, alongside the single "The Emptiness Machine" and the announcement of From Zero. Founding guitarist Brad Delson played on the record but has not toured behind it; Alex Feder has handled live guitar duties.