Queen guitarist Sir Brian May is worried, as a Beatles fan, that the Sam Mendes’ four films about the band members will feel “that it’s a competition between them”.
Queen guitarist Sir Brian May is worried that Sam Mendes’ upcoming four films about The Beatles will feel like “it’s a competition between them”.
Mendes is creating The Beatles – A Four-Film Cinematic Event, which is comprised of four separate but inter-connected movies that will tell the phenomenal rise and eventual break-up of The Beatles from the perspective of each band member.
John Lennon will be played by Harris Dickinson, Paul Mescal will play Sir Paul McCartney, Joseph Quinn is playing George Harrison and Barry Keoghan will portray Sir Ringo Starr.
As a musician who considers The Beatles’ albums to be his “Bible”, May is nervous about the ambitious cinematic plan, because he fears other members will be portrayed as more important to the group.
Speaking to assembled media, including BANG Showbiz, at the launch of Cirque du Soleil OVO at the Royal Albert Hall in London on Wednesday night (14.01.26), he said: “I love The Beatles, The Beatles are like the Bible to me. But four films? I feel this horrible kind of thing that it’s a competition between them or something.”
May, 78, also insisted he has no interest in making any more movie or TV projects about Queen.
The rock legend is still very proud of what he and his bandmates – Roger Taylor and John Deacon – accomplished with their 2018 biopic Bohemian Rhapsody, which starred Rami Malek as late singer Freddie Mercury, a performance which earned Rami the Best Actor Oscar.
The Another One Bites the Dust hitmaker feels as though the movie was the perfect tribute to Freddie – who died in November 1991 aged 45 – and serves as a perfect film about the band.
He said: “I’m happy with the film that we made about Freddie, for now. I don’t need any more of that. I feel very proud of it, the fact that we did it for Freddie, not for us, made it right for us.”
Brian was joined at the launch of the spectacular Cirque du Soleil OVO show by his wife, former EastEnders and Doctor Who actress Anita Dobson.
Other stars who walked the red carpet included Jodie Kidd, Girls Aloud singer Kimberley Walsh, Call the Midwife actress Helen George, The Script’s Danny O’Donoghue and his wife Anais Niang, former Episodes star Stephen Mangan and more.
‘I feel that it’s a competition between them…’ Brian May questions Sam Mendes’ plan for four Beatles’ films
