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Biopics are on the rise. In the past year alone, we’ve gotten biopics for Amy Winehouse, Bob Dylan, Maria Callas, Robbie Williams, and more — and the trend is not stopping anytime soon. Cue: Sam Mendes’s the Beatles biopics.
First announced in early 2024, Sam Mendes’s The Beatles biopics are officially on the way via Sony Pictures, and, after much speculation, we’ve finally found our Fab Four in Paul Mescal, Joseph Quinn, Barry Keoghan, and Harris Dickinson.
With the main cast unveiled, find out everything you need to know about the Beatles biopics — and what makes them special — below.
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What will the Beatles biopics be about?
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Long story short: The Beatles biopics will be about the lives of the four members of the famed Liverpool brand — George Harrison, John Lennon, Ringo Starr, and Paul McCartney. The movies will follow the individual stories of the members from the formation of the group in 1960 until their split in 1970.
Though they won’t be the first movie based on the story of the Beatles by any chance, Sam Mendes’s biopics do mark a first: it is the first time that all the members and their families and estates grant the music rights of the group’s catalogs, as well as full support, for a scripted project.
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How many movies will the Beatles biopics have?
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Sam Mendes’s Beatles biopics will feature four interconnected movies in total, each focusing on a different member of the band and their story.
“Each one is told from the particular perspective of just one of the guys,” the British director shared while presenting the project at Sony’s CinemaCon in Las Vegas on March 31, 2025. “They’re four very different human beings. Perhaps this is a chance to understand them a little more deeply. But together, all four films will tell the story of the greatest band in history. I just felt the story of the band was too huge to fit into a single movie, and that turning it into a TV mini-series just somehow didn’t feel right.”
The director added that the movies will “intersect in different ways” and would sometimes overlap but sometimes not. Sony Pictures has officially labeled the project as The Beatles – A Four-Film Cinematic Event, with Mendes further describing it as the “first bingeable theatrical experience.”
When the project was first announced, Pippa Harris, Mendes’s producing partner at Neal Street Productions, said: “We intend this to be a uniquely thrilling and epic cinematic experience: four films, told from four different perspectives, which tell a single story about the most celebrated band of all time. To have The Beatles’ and Apple Corps’ blessing to do this is an immense privilege.”
Mendes is known for his work on American Beauty, 1917, as well as James Bond films Skyfall and Spectre.
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Which actors will play the Beatles in Sam Mendes’s biopics?
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As mentioned above, Joseph Quinn, Barry Keoghan, Harris Dickinson, and Paul Mescal will be the actors in charge of bringing the Beatles to life in Sam Mendes’s biopics. Medes himself unveiled the casting at CinemaCon on March 31, 2025, at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas. Here’s which Beatle each actor will play:
Paul Mescal is Paul McCartney
Irish actor Paul Mescal, who is 29 at the time of the casting announcement, has been tapped to play Paul McCartney. Mescal’s acting credits include Normal People, Aftersun, All of Us Strangers, and Gladiator II sequel. Mescal’s name has been attached to the project for quite a while — director Christopher Nolan let it slip back in December 2024 that the actor had been tapped for Mendes’s Beatles project. Speaking to Entertainment Tonight, the star had said the role would be “a dream come true” before his casting was made public.
Harris Dickinson is John Lennon
Harris Dickinson, who hails from London and is currently 28, will step into late John Lennon’s shoes. The star is best known for his work on Maleficent: Mistress of Evil, The King’s Man, The Iron Claw, and Babygirl, among other projects. When asked about the possibility of appearing in the film in December 2024, Dickinson said it “would be amazing.” He added: “I think the idea of Sam [Mendes] teaming up to do something like that would be incredibly exciting. Obviously, John Lennon is a very complex role, a pretty formidable force to try to do. It would be cool.”
Barry Keoghan as Ringo Starr
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Ringo Starr himself was the person to let it slip that Irish actor Barry Keoghan, currently 32, had accepted the drummer position in the biopics. According to Starr, the Saltburn actor has been already taking drumming lessons for the role. Keoghan’s casting has been praised by fans, who point out the actor bears a striking resemblance with the musician.
Joseph Quinn as George Harrison
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31-year-old London native Joseph Quinn will take on the role of the late George Harrison. Quinn, who rose to fame playing Eddie Munson in season 4 of Netflix’s Stranger Things, has already worked with one of his fellow on-screen Beatles: he appeared alongside Mescal in Gladiator II. The star is also joining the Marvel family as Johnny Storm/Human Torch in The Fantastic Four: First Steps and a couple of upcoming Avengers films.
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Do the Beatles biopics have a release date?
Sam Mendes and Sony Pictures have confirmed that all four Beatles biopic movies will be released in April 2028. Though no specific date or timeline has yet been announced, the movies are expected to come out “in proximity” to each other. Initially, the project was announced with a 2027 tentative release date.
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Is there a trailer for the Beatles biopics?
At the time of writing, there’s no trailer for the Beatles biopics, as the project has yet to begin filming. At CinemaCon, Mendes revealed that principal photography for the four movies will take a year to complete, and filming is yet to start, so you do the math on when we’ll get our first footage.
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This post will be updated as news about the Beatles biopics breaks.
Originally Appeared on Teen Vogue
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