As The Beatles movie cast is revealed, three shocking episodes in band’s history that new films MUST cover
THEY are the biggest band of all time — and now the actors who will play them on the big screen have been unveiled.
The Beatles — A Four-Film Cinematic Event will explore the lives of the Fab Four in a series of interconnected movies, one from each member’s perspective.
And a year on from director Sir Sam Mendes announcing he was involved with the project, it has been revealed that Gladiator II’s Paul Mescal will portray Sir Paul McCartney, Babygirl actor Harris Dickinson is John Lennon, Stranger Things’ Joseph Quinn takes on George Harrison and Oscar-nominated Barry Keoghan bangs the drum for Sir Ringo Starr.
Dressed all in black, the quartet took a bow on stage in Las Vegas on Monday night as they were introduced for the first time.
The movies, which will be released in “close proximity” in April 2028, make up the most anticipated music film series yet.
It follows a spate of Hollywood music biopics, which will see films about Michael Jackson and Bruce Springsteen out this year, hot on the heels of January’s A Complete Unknown starring Timothee Chalamet as Bob Dylan.
So far, Paul, 82, has been tight-lipped about the casting, but the only other surviving Beatle, Ringo, 84, said that Keoghan would be “great”.
‘Nothing off-limits’
Online there was a mixed reaction, with some describing the line-up as “brilliant” while others complained they did not look like the band.
Director Mendes, who was behind James Bond movies Skyfall and Spectre, has been trying to make a film about the mop-topped Liverpudlian quartet for a long time.
But he said he “gave up” because there are too many important events to get into one movie.
We’re not just making one film about The Beatles — we’re making four. Perhaps this is a chance to understand them a little more deeply.
Sam Mendes, Director
However, at the official launch of his four films this week, 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.
“We’re not just making one film about The Beatles — we’re making four. Perhaps this is a chance to understand them a little more deeply.”
Formed in 1960, The Beatles released 12 studio albums over the next decade.
In November 2023, they scored a number one single with Now And Then, a 1977 John Lennon demo song that was later abandoned.
The fascination with The Beatles is as great now as it ever has been.
Documentaries and films related to the group appear in cinemas on a regular basis.
Next week, Bafta-winning director Kevin Macdonald releases One To One: John & Yoko, about the only post-Beatles full-length show by John Lennon, who was shot dead aged 40 by a crazed fan in 1980.
Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr, Sean Lennon and Olivia Harrison responded with such warmth and enthusiasm as soon as Sam spoke with them.
Pippa Harris, Producer
And last October, Midas Man told the story of the “fifth Beatle”, their manager Brian Epstein.
But The Beatles — A Four-Film Cinematic Event will be the first time the band’s company, Apple Corps, has approved the rights to their music in a scripted film that tells all of their life stories.
The movies have been given the green light by Paul, Ringo and the families of John and George, who died aged 58 in 2001. And they are said to be giving complete artistic freedom to director Sam.
Producer Pippa Harris said: “Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr, Sean Lennon and Olivia Harrison responded with such warmth and enthusiasm as soon as Sam spoke with them.
“What is truly exciting is for Sam to have the freedom to delve into the lives of each of the Beatles, with nothing off-limits and no sense of the band wanting him to tell a particular ‘authorised’ version of their rise.”
In the past, Paul is said to have been protective about the way he has been portrayed in print and on film.
When author Steven Gaines published Beatles biography The Love You Make in 1983, McCartney was apparently “furious” about the revelations.
Gaines, who interviewed Paul, Ringo and George for the book, told The Times last year: “Paul and Linda tore the book apart and burned it in the fireplace, page by page.
“There was an omerta, a code of silence, around The Beatles, and they didn’t think anyone would come forward to tell the truth.”
There is certainly plenty of controversial material about the Fab Four.
Will Mendes be brave enough to delve into Lennon’s jealous rages, which included hitting women?
How much of the band’s epic drug taking — Paul used LSD and John was addicted to heroin — will make it into the movies?
One of the juiciest parts of the George and Ringo story has to be guitarist George having an affair with the drummer’s then wife Maureen.
What we do know about Mendes’ four films is that all of them will link up. And the tagline for them is: “Each man has his own story, but together they are legendary.”
Hopefully, Mendes, who brought humour back to the Daniel Craig Bond movies, will include plenty of the Fab Four’s cheeky wit.
Ringo, whose musical ability was a running joke, has never been one to take himself too seriously.
‘Slightly peeved’
When he was asked last year about rumours Saltburn actor Keoghan, 32, was going to play him, he replied: “I think it’s great.
“I believe he’s somewhere taking drum lessons — and I hope not too many.”
But Paul is unlikely to be happy about 5ft 11in Mescal, 29, playing him, while 6ft 1in Harris Dickinson plays John.
When Thomas Brodie-Sangster appeared as McCartney in 2009 movie Nowhere Boy, he looked to be shorter than Aaron Taylor-Johnson, who portrayed Lennon.
Paul said at the time: “You know what I’m slightly peeved about? My character, my actor, is shorter than John. And I don’t like that.
“I’m the same size as John, please. Put John in a trench. Or put me in platforms.”
But there is no argument the actors are all big names coming into their prime.
Mescal, who is dating singer Gracie Abrams, became a star during the pandemic on BBC series Normal People. Harris, 28, has been tipped as a possible James Bond.
Joseph Quinn, 31, will play superhero Human Torch in Marvel’s The Fantastic Four this summer.
And Barry, who was recently dating pop sensation Sabrina Carpenter, was Oscar-nominated for The Banshees Of Inisherin in 2023.
All of them will have to master the Scouse accent though, because both Paul and Barry are Irish, while Harris and Joseph are Londoners.
That puts them at a disadvantage to Liverpool actor Ian Hart, who has twice played Lennon in movies.
But neither 1991 film The Hours And Times or 1994’s Backbeat were box office hits. The biggest Beatles-related cinematic success was Yesterday in 2019 by director Danny Boyle, which earned £120million worldwide.
In the film, struggling musician Jack, played by Himesh Patel, wakes up in a world where The Beatles have been forgotten and only he can remember their songs.
McCartney, Ringo and John’s widow Yoko Ono are all said to have loved Yesterday, in which Trainspotting actor Robert Carlyle makes a cameo appearance as Lennon.
I’m excited that Sam has taken on the madness of making four movies at the same time.
Ringo Starr
But even bigger returns will be expected from the Mendes movies.
In 2019, Queen biopic Bohemian Rhapsody raked in close to a billion dollars, and Sir Elton John’s story Rocketman the same year earned £150million.
The glut of music-led stories can lead to losses though, with the Robbie Williams’ £85million Better Man last year only earning £12million.
Much will depend on how well audiences receive whichever of the four movies comes out first.
If they are gripped, they will surely want to see the rest.
It is a gamble, but as Ringo said last month: “I’m excited that Sam has taken on the madness of making four movies at the same time.
“My life as a lad, John’s life, Paul’s life, George’s life, it must interact in some way.
“We’ll all be there. So I’m excited to see what he does with it.”
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