Ben Stokes: Phoenix from the Ashes – What is the release date for the film? All you need to know about the Prime Video cricket documentary

Prime Video, Ben Stokes and Academy Award-winning director Sam Mendes have teamed up for a powerful new documentary film about the new England cricket captain’s incredible career.

Ben Stokes: Phoenix from the Ashes won’t just look at the cricketer’s phenomenal personal achievements such as England’s World Cup triumph and his heroic Headingley innings in 2019, it will also cover his personal lows and mental health struggles.

Produced by Whisper, the film crew captured Ben’s most personal and challenging moments, including his final visit to see his terminally ill father and his struggles which forced him to take a break from cricket in 2021.

Ben Stokes: Phoenix from the Ashes - review

The film won’t be holding back on exploring Stokes’s low points off the field, even covering his arrest in 2017 for a fight near a nightclub in Bristol. He was cleared of affray in court the following year, but the incident cost him his spot in the England team for the tour of Australia.

Ben explores his highs and lows on-screen with cricket fanatic and movie director Mendes, who also executive produces the film.

Stokes' career as England captain in 2022 has got off to a phenomenal start with jaw-dropping wins against New Zealand and India, so it will be intriguing to see if the documentary captures the energy and magic that the cricketer has brought to the job. 

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What is the Ben Stokes: Phoenix from the Ashes release date?

Ben Stokes: Phoenix from the Ashes will launch exclusively on Friday, 26 August on Prime Video.

"One thing I want to try and do with this is to get a side across to people that is quite tough to do in the image that we give across on TV," said Stokes.

"Certain aspects in the media you have to do in a certain way, to come across in a certain way, to please a certain amount of people whereas for this I don't feel like I'm having to do that.

"I still think it’s crazy sat here that there's a documentary being done about me. And then on top of that having Sam [Mendes] come and do the interviews. The whole thing is a crazy experience still for me to think about."

Talking at the film's launch about his mental health battles and anxiety attack, which feature heavily in the film, Stokes told Sky Sports: "When the project had finished, and I watched it back for the first time, the first impressions I got were that hopefully it might be able to help people.

"The experiences I went through are something that a lot of people go through but sometimes you don't feel like you can [share]."

He added: "To be here as England Test captain is hopefully something people can take a lot of promise from [and see that] even when you do feel down and dark you can bounce back and achieve something you want to."

Who is making the Ben Stokes documentary?

Ben Stokes: Phoenix from the Ashes is directed by Chris Grubb and Luke Mellows and executive produced by Mark Cole and Sunil Patel.

The film is being made by the production company Whisper and has Oscar winner Sam Mendes on-board as an interviewer and executive producer.

"When they asked me to be involved in this excellent documentary, it took me about 10 seconds to say yes," said Mendes, who won the Best Director Oscar for his screen debut, American Beauty, and has since directed Bond films Skyfall and Spectre and acclaimed war movie 1917.

"There are a lot of mysteries surrounding Ben Stokes, and a lot of questions I wanted to ask. To my amazement, he answered them all.

"I was always a fan of Ben as a cricketer - how can you not be, if you are a lover of sport at the highest level - but now my admiration extends well beyond the boundaries of cricket."

The film will include interviews with teammates and friends of Stokes including Joe Root, Jofra Archer, Neil Fairbrother and the late Shane Warne.

Watch Ben Stokes: Phoenix from the Ashes from Friday, 26 August on Prime Video