In early 2024, it was announced that Sam Mendes would be producing four films about worldwide musical phenomenon The Beatles with Sony Pictures Entertainment and Mendes’s Neal Street Productions. At the time, Ringo Starr himself tweeted that the films were fully supported by himself and the families of Paul McCartney, John Lennon, and George Harrison.
This is the first time Apple Corps Ltd. and The Beatles have granted a scripted film expansive life story and music rights, so it’s a pretty big deal. Here’s what we know about the movie quartet so far.
What are The Beatles movies about?
Mendes hasn’t been too specific—the details of the band’s life and history together is pretty well-covered in myriad movies and documentaries anyway, so it is really a matter of style over substance. The Oscar-winning director indicated that the films will be interwoven and include one band member’s point of view per movie.
Mendes is directing all four films and producing with Pippa Harris and Julie Pastor, but they’re supposedly still searching for their screenwriters.
Who is in the cast for the four movies?
Ringo Starr was interviewed by Entertainment Tonight and seemed to confirm that Irish actor Barry Keoghan had been cast as his youthful doppelgänger. When asked about Keoghan possibly being a match, Starr replied, “Well, I think he’s great, and I believe he’s somewhere taking drum lessons.”
He added that he hopes Keoghan doesn’t take “too many lessons” so he could find his personal groove.
Is there a release date?
According to Deadline, there is a tentative 2027 release date, but it’s unclear if they’ll come out all at once or staggered. Production List reported that filming in London is scheduled for July 2025.
Aimée Lutkin is the weekend editor at ELLE.com. Her writing has appeared in Jezebel, Glamour, Marie Claire and more. Her first book, The Lonely Hunter, will be released by Dial Press in February 2022.