‘Beatles’ on big screen: Filmmaker Sam Mendes reveals star cast of 4 biopics on iconic music band

Filmmaker Sam Mendes is bringing the life story of the Beatles members — Paul McCartney, George Harrison, Ringo Starr and John Lennon — in four individual movies, all set to be released in theatres in April 2028.

The director, known for “American Beauty”, “Revolutionary Road”, James Bond films “Skyfall” and “Spectre”, and “1917”, made the announcement at CinemaCon, also confirming the much-speculated casting.

According to Variety, ‘The Fab Four’ are: “Gladiator II” co-stars Paul Mescal and Joseph Quinn as Paul McCartney and George Harrison, respectively, “The Banshees of Inisherin” star Barry Keoghan as Ringo Starr and “Babygirl” breakout Harris Dickinson as John Lennon.

The Beatles, popular for songs such as “Hey Jude”, “Here Comes The Sun”, “Abbey Road” and “Let It Be”, are widely regarded as the most influential band in Western popular music. The fanaticism for the rock band, which was active between 1960 and 1970, was such that the phenomenon came to be known as ‘Beatlemania’.

At ComicCon, Mendes said the multi-part biopic, officially titled “The Beatles – A Four-Film Cinematic Event”, will be the “first binge-able theatrical experience”.

It’s uncertain whether the movies will be released all at once or one per week.

The director said he had long dreamed of bringing the story of the Beatles to screens, but he didn’t want to make a mini-series.

“The story was too huge to fit into a single movie,” he said, adding that’s why he came up with a plan to tell the story of “the greatest band in history” from the perspective of each of its members.

“It’s a chance to understand them more deeply,” he added.

The film is also the first narrative feature to be granted music rights to the Beatles’ extensive catalog of hits such as “Strawberry Fields”, “Let It Be”, “I Am the Walrus”, and “Yellow Submarine”.

Principal photography on the four films will take a year, said Mendes.