John Russo
The Fab Four are heading to the big screen. After months of speculation surrounding director Sam Mendes’ Beatles biopic, the film’s cast was officially announced at CinemaCon in Las Vegas on March 31, with Paul Mescal, Joseph Quinn, Barry Keoghan, and Harris Dickinson, all appearing on stage. But that’s not all the latest Beatles movie news to come out of the presentation.
Musical biopics are a pretty common Hollywood genre, but this production is far from typical. Not only is this the first time a studio has been given life rights to The Beatles—Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr, George Harrison, and John Lennon—it’s also, as far as I know, the first musical biopic that isn’t going to be one movie. It’s going to be four.
“I’m honored to be telling the story of the greatest rock band of all time, and excited to challenge the notion of what constitutes a trip to the movies,” Sam Mendes said when the plan was first announced in 2024. Sorry, Sam, but we’ll be the judge of that. Here’s everything we know about this new “trip to the movies” so far.
What are the four Beatles movies going to be about?
As you’ve probably already guessed, the four Beatles movies will each be told from a different perspective. One from Paul’s, one from Ringo’s, one from George’s, and one from John’s. Together, the film quartet will be known as The Beatles—A Four-Film Cinematic Event.
As for the actual time periods covered by the films, that’s a little more tricky. The Beatles’ career as a band spanned only a decade—from 1960 to 1970, though John and Paul’s friendship began years earlier. Since this isn’t technically a biopic of each individual member, I assume that the majority of each film will take place within that decade. It’s also unclear whether or not each film will focus on a different time period, or if there will be overlap between films, with certain key events shown from multiple perspectives.
Who was cast in The Beatles movies?
Ethan Miller/Getty Images
After months of speculation, Sony confirmed the cast at CinemaCon, and it was pretty much what fans have been saying for months.
- Paul Mescal as Paul McCartney
- Harris Dickinson as John Lennon
- Joseph Quinn as George Harrison
- Barry Keoghan as Ringo Starr
No other casting or characters have been announced, but one assumes any Beatles movie will also feature a character based on Brian Epstein, their first manager, and record producer George Martin, who was nicknamed “the fifth Beatle” for his extensive work with the band.
When will The Beatles movies come out?
All four films are set to release in April of 2028. Speaking at CinemaCon, per The Hollywood Reporter, Sam said that Sony’s Tom Rothman called it “the first binge-able theater experience,” but it’s unclear whether or not the four films will share the same release date, or if they’ll be spread out over the month. If they are spread out, my guess is that they’ll be released in order of the band members joining, so John or Paul first, then George, and then Ringo.
Are Paul and Ringo involved?
Paul and Ringo, the only living members of the Beatles, haven’t been included in any official announcements, but they do appear to be involved in the production. They were both co-posted Sony’s Instagram cast announcement (as did the official account of the John Lennon and George Harrison estates). So at the very least, they seem to approve!
