Paul Mescal, Barry Keoghan, Harris Dickinson and Joseph Quinn’s casting as The Beatles in director Sir Sam Mendes’ four-film project have been confirmed.
Paul Mescal, Barry Keoghan, Harris Dickinson and Joseph Quinn’s casting as The Beatles have been confirmed.
Director Sir Sam Mendes is making four seperate films about the legendary band and he has now revealed that the biopics will be released in April 2028, in what he described as the first “bingeable moment in cinema” and confirmed who will be playing the Fab Four.
Paul will star as Sir Paul McCartney, Barry will play Sir Ringo Starr, Harris will portray the late John Lennon, and Joseph is on board as the late George Harrison.
Speaking at Sony’s CinemaCon presentation, Sam mentioned it would take him over a year to shoot all four movies and didn’t confirm in which order they will be released.
The 59-year-old director hailed the Beatles as possibly the “most significant band of all time” who had “redefined the culture and stayed with you for a lifetime.”
The ‘Skyfall’ filmmaker admitted he had dreamed of the project for a long time.
He said: “I had been trying to do a film for years, but I finally gave up [because the] story was too big for one film.”
Noting a TV series didn’t seem quite right, he said: “There had to be a way to tell the epic story for a new generation … I can assure you there is still plenty left to explore and I think we found a way to do that.”
Assembled together for the first time, the four actors then quoted ‘Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band’ as they told the audience in Las Vegas: “It’s wonderful to be here, it’s certainly a thrill, you’re such a lovely audience, we’d like to take you home with us.”
Sir Ridley Scott had previously let slip that Paul would be starring in the film, while Ringo himself had teased Barry had been cast as him, and both Harris and Joseph had been linked with the project before the formal announcement.
Sam previously explained that he pitched the idea of making four films about the ‘Hey Jude’ group in 2023 and wowed Sony executives Tom Rothman and Elizabeth Gabler with his plans.
He told Deadline last year: “We went out to Los Angeles just before Christmas to pitch the project, and it’s fair to say we were met with universal enthusiasm.
“The reason Sony stood out from competing offers was down to Tom and Elizabeth’s passion for the idea, and commitment to propelling these films theatrically in an innovative and exciting way.”
The movies have the approval of the surviving Beatles, Paul and Ringo, and of John and George’s families. It marks the first time both them and rights holders Apple have granted a scripted film full life story and music rights.
Paul Mescal, Barry Keoghan, Harris Dickinson and Joseph Quinn confirmed to play The Beatles
