The Beatles – A Four-Film Cinematic Event is one of the most ambitious creative projects in the history of Hollywood. While we normally are focused on the immediate, like the 2026 movie schedule, director Sam Mendes has taken on a challenge so huge that we're talking about, in length, two years out from the release of all four movies. Each movie will focus on an individual member of the band: Paul McCartney, John Lennon, George Harrison, and Ringo Starr.
It's kind of crazy that we're talking about a project that is still two years away from release, but we have not one, but four upcoming music biopics about The Beatles, collectively known as The Beatles – A Four-Film Cinematic Event. It’s safe to say that the band's legacy has never waned, and they remain as relevant today as they were in the 1960s. However, there has never been an officially approved film about the iconic rock band, until now. And there are four of them.
The films are being shot simultaneously and cover the same period in the band, from their early days in Liverpool until their breakup in 1970 with the same cast appearing in all four. Each film will be seen from the point of view of an individual Beatle. Over the last couple of years or so, we’ve gotten a lot of information, including who will play most of the important people in the story (including all four Beatles), as casting is pretty much fully fleshed out at this point, at least all the major players (save one - who will play Pete Best??).
Article continues belowOh, and did we mention that all four movies will be released on the same day in 2028? Let's get into it, because I can't wait to see these movies.
What Is The Release Date?
Understandably, the project is going to take some time. In March of 2025, Variety reported the news that all four movies will hit theaters on April 7th, 2028. That certainly feels like a long way off, but The Beatles – A Four-Film Cinematic Event is a huge undertaking, so it’s hardly a surprise that it will take a while to complete. Production began in November of 2025.
The announcement called it “the first binge-able theatrical experience,” and if you are going to binge it, it's going to be a long day at the movie theater, as all four will be released simultaneously!
Who Are Playing The Beatles And Everyone Else In The Cast?
The cast of The Beatles – A Four-Film Cinematic Event is absolutely stacked. Columbia Pictures has announced the names of most of the important people in The Beatles' orbit, including, of course, the four actors playing John, Paul, George, and Ringo. Plus producer George Martin, manager Brian Epstein, and the women who will be playing their wives. Here's everyone we know, including photos of the actors playing the Fab Four:
Paul Mescal As Paul McCartney
Though all of the Beatles are among the most famous men of the 100 years, Paul McCartney might just be the most famous. His career has spanned an incredible 65+ years, and even in his 80s, the songwriter shows no sign of slowing down. In fact, McCartney is releasing a new album, his first in six years, at the end of May 2026. In the Mendes Beatles movies, "Macca" will be played by Normal People star Paul Mescal.
Mescal's breakout role came in 2024's Gladiator II, in which he played Lucius Verus Aurelius. That came after he was nominated for an Oscar for 2022's Aftersun. He's also got a lot of award buzz for his performance as William Shakespeare in Hamnet, which was released in December 2025. In January 2026, we even got a sneak peek of Mescal as Macca, as well as a quote from the actor saying he will be doing the singing as Paul.
Harris Dickinson As John Lennon
The role of the late John Lennon will be played by Harris Dickinson. Lennon, who was shot and killed in 1980, did more to shape the Beatles than anyone else, both for better and for worse, and there is no doubt his story will likely be the most anticipated. The King's Man star has been busy lately, working with fellow Beatles movie star Saoirse Ronan in Blitz in 2024, and writing, directing, and starring in Urchin in 2025.
Joseph Quinn As George Harrison
In 2025, Joseph Quinn joined the MCU as Johnny Storm in the well-received Marvel movie The Fantastic Four: First Steps. He'll be reprising the role in 2026's Avengers: Doomsday. Quinn has been tapped to play George Harrison in the Beatles movies. Of all the stories to be told, Harrison's might be the most interesting during his time with the band. Though he was an original member, he often felt apart from the writing team of Lennon and McCartney. It famously led to a fair amount of friction within The Beatles, and watching it play out will likely be a highlight of the four movies.
Barry Keoghan As Ringo Starr
Ringo Starr might not have been the band’s original drummer, but he joined just at the right time. That’s not to take away from his drumming, of course, or his impact on the band. His quirky personality and tasteful drumming were keys to the band’s success. He will be played by Irish actor Barry Keoghan. Keoghan spoke to Collider in March 2026 about the pressure of portraying a Beatle:
It's emotional. It is. Because the Beatles, for me, I've met Ringo [Starr] and Paul [McCartney], but you get to know the lads very much through all the research. It's not pressure, it's sort of like you just want to do them good.
Keoghan has quickly become one of the most celebrated actors of the last decade with standout roles in shows like Chernobyl from HBO and Masters Of The Air, which can be seen with an Apple TV subscription, as well as movies like The Banshees of Inisherin, Eternals, Saltburn, and most recently, Crime 101 on the 2026 movie schedule.
Anna Sawai As Yoko Ono
Without a doubt, one of the most anticipated casting announcements would be who would play Yoko Ono. We now know that Anna Sawai will be stepping into the role of John Lennon’s second wife and widow. 2025 has been a big year for Sawai. She won an Emmy in September for her amazing performance in 2024’s Shōgun, which you can watch with a Hulu subscription.
Lennon met Ono in 1966, but they wouldn’t start dating until 1968, before marrying in 1969. She was a near-constant presence with the rock star after their marriage. This is one of the stories I'm most interested in, as I, like others, think that Ono got a bad rap for far too long as the "woman who broke up The Beatles," which isn't remotely true. It looks like Sawai agrees, telling Variety:
There’s a version of her I feel people still don’t understand. And in this film, I think we’re going to be able to tell that side of the story.
Ono is the most famous non-band member in The Beatles story, so this should be a major aspect of John's movie, I would think.
Saoirse Ronan As Linda McCartney
Saoirse Ronan is one of the more celebrated actors of the last two decades, earning four Oscar nominations since 2007. Most recently, she can be seen in 2025’s Bad Apples and 2024’s Blitz on Apple TV.
Ronan will be playing Linda McCartney, née Eastman, who married Paul in 1969. Linda, a professional photographer, met Paul in 1967 while she was on assignment, and they began dating shortly after. They remained married until her death from breast cancer in 1998.
Aimee Lou Wood As Pattie Boyd
One of the biggest breakouts in 2025 came from Season 3 of The White Lotus. Aimee Lou Wood is wonderful as Chelsea in the anthology series, and she is, frankly, perfect for the role of Pattie Boyd Harrison, wife of George Harrison. Most recently, Wood has co-created and is starring in the BBC show Film Club. For the role of Pattie, Wood is very aware of what she needs to do to play such a famous public figure, telling The Standard:
I am going to have to really prep, and I am going to have to really be detailed about that, because she is someone who is so recognisable, and obviously not do an impression. I have to be specific whilst also being free, so I think that’s a good muscle to flex, but it scares me.
George and Pattie met on the set of Hard Day's Night in 1964, where Pattie played one of the two school girls on the train with The Beatles. Like in the movie, she caught the eye of one particular Beatle, and they married in early 1966. Their relationship was a rocky one, and Biyd famously divorced Harrison in 1977 and married Harrison’s best friend, Eric Clapton. Most of that story happened after the Beatles broke up, so we probably won’t see it in the movies.
Mia McKenna-Bruce As Maureen Starkey
Ringo Starr’s most famous (and current) wife is former Bond girl Barbara Bach, but they didn’t marry until 1980, so she likely won’t be part of the story in these movies. In the time period covered by the movies, Starr was married to Liverpool-native Maureen Starkey, née Cox. They married in 1965 and were together until 1975.
Maureen will be played by Mia McKenna-Bruce. McKenna-Bruce had her breakout in 2022’s How to Have Sex and is set to star in the Netflix show The Seven Dials Mystery, based on the book of the same name by Agatha Christie.
James Norton As Brian Epstein
We've also learned from Deadline that The Beatles' legendary manager Brian Epstein, who died in 1967 at the height of Beatlemania, will be portrayed by James Norton. Norton recently starred in House of Guinness, one of the best shows on Netflix in 2025.
Norton is no stranger to playing record industry legends. The actor played Island Records founder Chris Blackwell in the biopic Bob Marley: One Love in 2024. Norton will also appear in the upcoming Season 3 of House Of The Dragon as Ormond Hightower.
Harry Lloyd As George Martin
Game of Thrones veteran Harry Lloyd, who played the ill-fated Viserys Targaryen in the HBO series, will play famed Beatles producer George Martin. One of the many men sometimes referred to as "the fifth Beatle," Martin was crucial to the band's legendary albums. There's no question he'll play a prominent role in all four films.
The rest of the cast, including some of the Beatles' family members, and other important people in their career, have also been cast:
- Bobby Schofield As Neil Aspinall
- Daniel Hoffman-Gill as Mal Evans
- Adam Pally as Allen Klein
- David Morrissey as Jim McCartney, Paul's father
- Leanne Best as Mimi Smith, John's aunt, who raised him
- Arthur Darvill as Beatles PR man Derek Taylor
- Adam Pally as Allen Klein, the band's manager in their later years
- Lucy Boynton as Jane Asher
- Farhan Akhtar as Ravi Shankar
- Morfydd Clark as Cynthia Lennon, John's first wife
- Harry Lawtey as Stuart Sutcliffe, The Beatles' original bass player
Some of the musicians who worked with The Beatles will hopefully make appearances, like keyboardist Billy Preston. He worked with the band extensively in their final recording sessions and can be seen with a Disney+ subscription in the amazing docuseries The Beatles: Get Back from director Peter Jackson. Eric Clapton, who played the guitar solo on “While My Guitar Gently Weeps,” and was good friends with George Harrison (and later married Pattie Boyd, after she divorced Harrison), could also pop up.
Of course, we haven't seen an actor attached to the role of the band's drummer before Ringo, Pete Best, either, but as Stu Sutcliffe has been cast, I assume Best will appear too.
There Will Be 4 Movies, One For Each Beatle
Rather than cover The Beatles across one biopic, this project is dedicating four feature films to these musical icons. As an added twist, each movie will focus on a different band member’s point of view, with all of the stories being “interconnected.” So although we’ll see Paul, John, George, and Ringo in all of these movies, each one will see one of the men taking center stage while the others occupy supporting positions.
As such, it’s reasonable to assume that, along with certain events being re-explored in each of these movies from different perspectives, there will also be opportunities to go down narrative paths that only involve the central Beatle, depending on the movie.
The Story Will End With Their 1970 Breakup
Paul McCartney, John Lennon, George Harrison, and Ringo Starr continued to produce music for their solo careers well after the Beatles dissolved, but it sounds like that won’t be explored in any of these upcoming movies. Per an official press release (via Variety), the Beatles' movies will wrap up with their breakup in 1970.
It’s possible that in the midst of each Beatles’ narrative being covered, there will be post-1970 flash forwards to show where these men ended up in life, but since these movies are specifically centered around the band when they were together, it’s doubtful a lot of screen time will be dedicated to what has happened after the breakup, or a lot about their solo careers.
Sam Mendes Is Directing All Four Movies
With a resume that includes American Beauty, Road to Perdition, Skyfall, Spectre, and 1917, it’s safe to say that Sam Mendes remains one of Hollywood’s most talented directors. Still, the prospect of directing four movies like this back-to-back-to-back-to-back would surely be daunting for any filmmaker. And yet, Mendes has taken it upon himself to helm and produce all four of them, though that’s not surprising since, per the Deadline story, he “conceived this grand vision.”
There Will Be Three Screenwriters
In May 2025, we found out that the four films would be written by three screenwriters. It’s a group of heavyweights, too. Per Variety, Tony Award-winner Jez Butterworth, who worked with Mendes on the James Bond film Spectre, will work alongside Peter Straughan, who just won an Oscar for his script for Conclave, and Jack Thorne, who took home an Emmy for his amazing work on Adolescence, which you can check out with a Netflix subscription.
These Are The First Official Biopics About The Beatles Ever Made
The Beatles are no strangers to cinema. Not only did Paul, John, Ringo, and George star in the movies A Hard Day’s Night, Help!, and Magical Mystery Tour, but they also provided the music (but not their voices) to the animated Yellow Submarine. There have also been several documentaries, and their music has been prominently featured in movies like Across the Universe and Yesterday (with the latter being possible thanks to a deal between Working Title Films and Apple and Sony). They even once tried to get their own Lord of the Rings adaptation off the ground.
However, Sam Mendes’ Beatles movies are the first time that scripted cinematic stories about these men have been approved by Paul and Ringo, as well as the estates of John and George. The full life stories and music rights of all four band members have been granted by those individuals and Apple Corps Ltd., the corporation that manages The Beatles’ music and various other media ventures.
There have been plenty of unauthorized versions of The Beatles on screen, with varying success, but none of those had the full backing of the band members and their surviving families, as these do. That means we’ll get lots of The Beatles’ music in the films, which is great, but it is fair to worry if the films will be too sanitized and leave out some of the more controversial moments of the band’s career, like the death of early band member Stu Sutcliffe, for example.
Given the success of music biopics from recent years like Bohemian Rhapsody, Elvis, A Complete Unknown, and the most recent Springsteen: Deliver Me from Nowhere, making a movie about The Beatles seems like it would be a no-brainer, but releasing four movies about them at once could lead to this becoming the cinematic event of 2028.
CinemaBlend will continue sharing the big updates on how Sam Mendes’ Beatles movies are progressing, so keep your eyes peeled!
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