Sir David Attenborough is celebrating his 99th birthday on May 8, 2025 with the release of Ocean with David Attenborough. The documentary, which just unveiled a nearly two-minute trailer, debuts outside of the United States on May 8, followed by June 7 on National Geographic and June 8 (World Oceans Day) on Disney+ and Hulu.
“My lifetime has coincided with the great age of ocean discovery. Over the last hundred years, scientists and explorers have revealed remarkable new species, epic migrations, and dazzling, complex ecosystems beyond anything I could have imagined as a young man,” said Sir David Attenborough. “In this film, we share those wonderful discoveries, uncover why our ocean is in such poor health, and, perhaps most importantly, show how it can bounce back to life.”
The documentary is directed by Toby Nowlan, Keith Scholey, and Colin Butfield and is a Silverback Films and Open Planet Studios co-production. Louise Pedersen, Rachel Job, Tom McDonald, Janet Han Vissering, Jasper Smith, Enric Sala, Kristin Rechberger, Rolly van Rappard, Francoise van Rappard, and Olivier Wenden serve as executive producers.
The documentary marks the first partnership between National Geographic and David Attenborough.
National Geographic released this description of Ocean with David Attenborough:
“After filming the natural world for over 70 years, captivating generations of audiences worldwide with groundbreaking discoveries and advocating for environmental preservation, Attenborough delivers his most powerful message yet. In the feature-length special OCEAN WITH DAVID ATTENBOROUGH, he draws on his lifetime of exploration and knowledge of the sea to take audiences on a cinematic journey of wonder through the planet’s most spectacular undersea habitats.
Attenborough investigates astonishingly diverse marine ecosystems, from bustling giant kelp jungles and mesmerizing coral reefs to towering seamount outposts within the open ocean, all of which are revealed to be intricately connected, vital to avoiding climate catastrophe, and in peril due to destructive forms of fishing. While Attenborough exposes the greatest threats to our oceans’ health as never seen before, he points to inspirational stories from around the world to reveal the most remarkable finding of all: If we take action now, the opportunity for marine life to recover on an unprecedented scale is well within our reach.”
