The director, Sam Mendes, is working on four biopics about The Beatles.
Mendes, who’s known for Oscar-winning films including “American Beauty,” “Skyfall,” and “1917,” has partnered with Sony to work on the ambitious slate of movies about the iconic British band.
In a press release announcing the news, Sony Pictures CEO Tim Rothman said: “Sam’s daring, large-scale idea is that and then some.”
Here’s everything we know about the four movies about The Beatles.
Paul Mescal, Harris Dickinson, Joseph Quinn, and Barry Keoghan will star in “The Beatles” movies in April 2028.
On Monday, Mendes appeared at CinemaCon in Las Vegas to officially announce the cast for the four Beatles movies. He confirmed that Paul Mescal will play Paul McCartney and Harris Dickinson will play John Lennon.
Joining them are “Saltburn” star Barry Keoghan as Ringo Starr and “Fantastic Four” actor Joseph Quinn as George Harrison.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, Mendes told the audience: “We’re not just making one film about the Beatles — we’re making four. Perhaps this is a chance to understand them a little more deeply.”
The synopsis for the project reads: “Each man has his own story, but together they are legendary. The Beatles — A Four-Film Cinematic Event. In cinemas April 2028.”
Each movie will focus on a different member of The Beatles
Each movie will be from the perspective of a different member of the band, meaning Paul McCartney, John Lennon, George Harrison, and Ringo Starr will each have their own biopic.
It’s the first time that the band’s company, Apple Corps Ltd., has given permission for the group’s life story and music to be used in a scripted film about them.
Since 1979, 18 unauthorized biopics have been made about the band including 2009’s “Knowhere Boy” starring Aaron Taylor-Johnson as Lennon and Thomas Brodie-Sangster as McCartney.
The release also says that the four movies “will intersect to tell the astonishing story of the greatest band in history.”
Yes, Mendes is effectively giving audiences The Beatles Cinematic Universe, so get those “Avengers” jokes out of the way now.
Sam Mendes will have ‘no limits’ telling The Beatles’ story
In an interview with Deadline in February 2024, Pippa Harris, who will produce the films, said the band’s surviving members, McCartney and Starr, have given their blessing for Mendes to work on the four films.
“It’s a testament to his creative brilliance and powers of persuasion that Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr, Sean Lennon, and Olivia Harrison responded with such warmth and enthusiasm as soon as he spoke with them,” she said, referring to John Lennon’s son and George Harrison’s widow.
Harris went on to say that Mendes will have no restrictions on what he depicts from the band members’ lives.
She said: “What is truly exciting is for Sam to have the freedom to delve into the lives of each of the Beatles, with nothing off limits and no sense of the band wanting him to tell a particular ‘authorised’ version of their rise to success.”
Starr also gave his blessing via a post on X.
Ringo Starr said ‘it’s great’ that Barry Keoghan will play him in The Beatles movies
In November 2024, ET Online asked Starr about rumors that Keoghan would play him.
He said: “I think it’s great, I believe he’s somewhere taking drum lessons, and I hope not too many.”
Ridley Scott said Paul Mescal joined the cast after rumors circulated that he’ll play Paul McCartney
In December, Ridley Scott let slip that Paul Mescal joined the cast of The Beatles movies during a conversation with Christopher Nolan after a screening of “Gladiator II.”
According to The Hollywood Reporter, Nolan asked the director whether Mescal would appear in his next project, “The Dog Stars,” but Scott said that the Irish actor has a busy schedule.
He said: “Maybe. Paul is actually stacked up, doing The Beatles next. So I may have to let him go.”
Rumors about Mescal’s involvement circulated for a while. In November he told Entertainment Tonight that he’d love to join the project.
“It would be an incredible story to be attached to. The fact that Sam Mendes is attached to direct, like truly, it would be a dream come true,” he said.
However, he refused to comment on the speculation that he would play McCartney, adding: “No, no, no — we’re not going there.”
Correction: March 1, 2024 — An earlier version of this story misstated the director of the film “No Time to Die.” Cary Joji Fukunaga directed the film, not Sam Mendes.
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