The Beatles – as we all know – were the biggest and bestselling band in history. From the minute they burst on to the scene in 1962, with Love Me Do, they changed the face of music for ever.
They totted up the most No 1 hits, the most No 1 albums, and had awards, accolades and prizes coming out of their ears.
But, most of all, they made us proud to be British, gave us joy, laughter and sadness and, as a result, boasted the loudest, most loyal, enduring, proud, pᴀssionate fan base ever.
As our late Queen reportedly said: ‘Think what we would have missed if we had never heard The Beatles.’
So you’d think that yesterday’s announcement – half a century after the Fab Four went their separate ways – that production had started on a four-movie Beatles biopic, called The Beatles – A Four-Film Cinematic Event, would have everyone singing and dancing in celebration.
Particularly as it’s directed by multi-award-winning Sir Sam Mendes and stars four of the world’s H๏τtest young actors.
Sadly, not quite.
Most people love the idea of a mᴀssive Beatles project. But it seems that the unveiling of the cast – Harris Dickinson as John Lennon, Paul Mescal as Paul McCartney, Barry Keoghan as Ringo Starr and Joseph Quinn playing George Harrison – on stage at an industry event in Las Vegas in a great flurry of excitement, has ruffled a few feathers.
It seems that the unveiling of the cast – Harris Dickinson as John Lennon, Paul Mescal as Paul McCartney, Barry Keoghan as Ringo Starr and Joseph Quinn playing George Harrison (all pictured) – has ruffled a few feathers
Portrait of John Lennon
George Harrison poses for a portrait in 1964 in London, England
Ringo Star in London, 1963
Paul McCartney in London, 1963
So much so that some fans ᴀssumed the announcement was a hoax.
‘April Fools. Please. Please let this be April Fools’; ‘This casting has to be a joke, right? Can’t get further than that. April Fools?’ The problem, they say, isn’t just that none of the actors are Scousers – though this has surprised a lot of Liverpudlians. Or that two of them – Mescal and Keoghan – aren’t even English.
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But how vanishingly little any of them resemble the world’s most recognisable pop stars.
‘Even if I squint, I don’t see The Beatles,’ rants @Road2Oscars. While @LSN_Frantz declares: ‘They don’t look anything like The Beatles.’ And @maculvein adds: ‘If these are any good at all the hair and make-up team need to be awarded the Nobel Prize.’
On and on they grumble about everything from the size of Paul Mescal’s beautiful mouth – far, far too big, apparently, for him to play Sir Paul McCartney – to Harris Dickinson’s towering height. Fresh from making Nicole Kidman sip from a saucer of milk as her Sєxually dominant toyboy in Babygirl, he’s a good four inches taller than the late John Lennon.
Will he have to be on his knees (like Kidman) for the famous stadium scenes, asks one fan.
More still, are appalled at the choice of Saltburn’s Barry Keoghan – who is frantically taking drumming lessons – for Ringo Starr.
And they don’t much fancy Stranger Things’ Joseph Quinn for George Harrison, either. ‘That man is not George Harrison in any way lol,’ writes @kboldens.
The life of the iconic band (pictured in 1963) is set to be told in four biopics, which will all be released in April 2028, in what’s been dubbed ‘the first binge-able theatrical experience’
Gladiator II star Mescal, who rose to fame in the BBC drama Normal People, will play the iconic Paul McCartney (pictured right in 1964)
Harris Dickinson — who recently charmed audiences as Nicole Kidman’s young lover in Babygirl — will play the legendary John Lennon (pictured right during The Beatles heyday)
Irish actor Barry Keoghan will play Ringo Starr in one of the four biopics (Ringo is pictured right in 1964)
Stranger Things actor Joseph Quinn will star as George Harrison, who died in 2001 (George is pictured right in 1964)
But, thankfully, some people seem to be happy. And, arguably, they are the ones who count – Sir Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr, George Harrison’s widow Olivia and John Lennon’s son Sean. Because they, along with their Apple Corps producers, have very unusually granted full life story and music rights – the first time ever for a scripted film – and approved all casting.
Maybe Sir Paul rather liked the idea of being played by a heart-throb Gladiator who single-handedly made silver necklaces Sєxy after his star turn in Normal People. Who wouldn’t? And Ringo has made it clear he’s happy with Barry, who best resembles him.
Read More The Beatles fans are convinced biopic cast reveal is an April Fool’s joke 
But let’s forget about the dreary casting niggles and instead focus on the mad, bad, crazy scale of the project – an undertaking of truly epic proportions by the ever brilliant Mendes.
Four full-length feature films, all covering the same time period – overlapping and interlinking – but each from the perspective of a different Beatle and each created by a different writer. Production has already started, and primary filming, which commences in London in July, will take up to two years. Which is an awfully long time to knock four top actors out of the game, who must be drowning in scripts right now. The logistics don’t bear thinking of.
It is also quite a risk to shoot all four at once.
Yes, there will be economies of scale – and, of course, the approach famously worked with The Lord Of The Rings trilogy. But it is a gamble filming in effect three sequels before gauging the success of the original.
Of course, Mendes, who has dreamt of doing a Beatles biopic for decades but wasn’t prepared to restrict it to one film or a TV series, is no stranger to big, daunting projects. Or, for that matter, great success.
Confirming the four actors set to star in the film for the first time, (left to right) Joseph, Barry, Harris and Paul were unveiled at Cinemacon on Monday
At CinemaCon 2025 in Las Vegas on Monday, Sony confirmed the cast for the four Beatles projects following a sea of speculation
He won a best director Oscar for American Beauty in 1999, critical acclaim for other films such as Revolutionary Road, Jarhead and 1917, and jump-started the James Bond franchise with Skyfall and Sceptre. Both were huge box office successes, despite alleged creative differences with producer Barbara Broccoli.
This time, however, he’s taking no such risks. The films are being made by Sony Pictures and Sir Sam’s Neal Street Productions, which will ensure he retains creative control.
He’ll need his offering to stand out from the crowd because The Beatles are probably the most documented band ever. They are already the subject of dozens of documentaries and at least 18 biopics on the big and small screen – including 1994’s wonderful Backbeat, about the early Beatles bᴀssist Stuart Sutcliffe, and 2009’s Nowhere Boy, which hones in on Lennon’s childhood.
Read More Paul McCartney enjoys swim with wife Nancy amid lavish holiday in St Barts 
But Mendes – who somehow used a combination of talent and extreme charm to convince those in charge of the Beatles’ estates to authorise the project – insists that there’s room for much more. Particularly with his unique vision of four separate films.
Each charting the life of a Beatle from their humble beginnings in Liverpool to global success, intersecting at iconic points in the band’s history, such as their appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show, their press conference at JFK airport, both in 1964, and their rooftop concert in London in 1969.
And every one with a different writer, all firewalled from each other, with no communication between them, to ensure four contrasting films.
So far, Conclave screenwriter Peter Straughan has been confirmed to be writing the George Harrison film. (Apparently, John Lennon, his first choice, had already gone to someone else but we have not been told who.)
Krsyty Wilson-Cairns (who worked with Mendes on 1917, his First World War epic) is reportedly on board. No other names have yet been confirmed.
When the films are finally released – in April 2028 – they must be watched in a particular order. We don’t yet know who comes first – John, Paul, Ringo or George. Or even whether they’ll all be released on the same day.
The whole thing is breathtakingly ambitious. Some insiders think too ambitious. Not so much in terms of the budget – £90million to £120 million is pretty modest for four films no doubt featuring huge crowd scenes.
Abbey Road, released in 1969, became the Beatles’ final album before their split, and famously showed the band crossing the road of the same name in London
In a moment reminiscent of The Beatles’ iconic Abbey Road album cover, all four actors took to the stage as they were officially unveiled as the main cast members for the films
While onstage, the actors recited lyrics from Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band and concluded with a coordinated bow reminiscent of the Beatles
Director Mendes (seen far left) appeared at the Caesar’s Palace event, revealing that all four films — called The Beatles: A Four-Film Cinematic Event — will come out in the same month
More as to whether even The Beatles will have the power to propel viewers back to the cinema in the numbers Mendes is dreaming of.
‘Love The Beatles… but this sounds like a great way to lose money,’ writes an anonymous poster on entertainment news website ᴅᴇᴀᴅline. ‘People are supposed to go to four different movies all released at the same time? In the real world, it’s a struggle to get people to go to any movie. Cinema is in crisis as people don’t want to go – they are used to staying home and watching it on streaming.’
Right now, there are many unanswered questions. Will any of the stars master a Scouse accent? Can they even sing? Which film will air first? Will Barry conquer the drums? And, from a less kind fan –‘Who on earth will want to watch Ringo’s film?’
But a few things are certain. The fact that The Beatles are still the most famous band in the world. That Mendes is a film genius with the blessing of the surviving band members and access to all their music.
And, perhaps most important, while the cast are hardly ᴅᴇᴀᴅ ringers for John, Paul, George and Ringo, they can at least all act.
