CinemaCon 2025 witnessed a groundbreaking announcement as director Sam Mendes unveiled the cast of his highly anticipated series of four Beatles biopics. Harris Dickinson, Paul Mescal, Barry Keoghan, and Joseph Quinn will portray John Lennon, Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr, and George Harrison, respectively. Each film will delve into the life of a different band member, with all four movies set to release in April 2028.
Mendes, the Oscar-winning director of American Beauty, 1917, and Skyfall, took the stage in Las Vegas alongside his Fab Four to confirm the project’s scale. “We’re not just making one film about the Beatles – we’re making four,” Mendes stated. “Perhaps this is a chance to understand them a little more deeply.”
This marks a historic first, as the project has received the full endorsement of McCartney and Starr, along with the families of Lennon and Harrison. Apple Corps, the rights holders of the Beatles’ music and legacy, have also granted complete life story and music rights for the films.
The inspiration behind Mendes’ ambitious approach stems from his belief that the Beatles’ story is too vast for a single film. “I have been trying to make a Beatles movie for years, but I finally gave up. The story was too big for one film, and I didn’t want to make a television series. There had to be a way to tell the epic story for a new generation,” Mendes explained.
During the event, the newly announced cast members paid tribute to the band by reciting lines from Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band: “It’s wonderful to be here, it’s certainly a thrill, you’re such a lovely audience, we’d like to take you home with us.”
Though some of the casting choices had been speculated on, this official confirmation delighted fans. Ridley Scott had previously hinted that Mescal was involved, while Ringo Starr himself had jokingly mentioned that Keoghan was learning the drums.
With the Beatles being the most significant band of all time, as Mendes put it, these films are poised to offer an intimate and expansive look into the lives of four musicians who reshaped the cultural landscape. With their full story yet to be explored in such depth, Mendes’ ambitious project aims to capture the essence of their journey in a way that no film has done before.
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