In February 2024, Oscar-winning director Sam Mendes announced he would be directing four separate fiction films, one for each member of The Beatles with the full approval of Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr as well as the families of John Lennon and George Harrison.
Mendes, 59, has directed movies such as 1917, American Beauty, Revolutionary Road, and two of the most successful ever James Bond films, Skyfall and Spectre.
American Beauty, his debut film, won five Oscars in 2000 and his two James Bond films remain the highest-grossing in the franchise.
In March 2025 after months of highly secretive auditions, the actors playing each band member were formally announced. Scroll on for everything you need to know about The Beatles: A Four-Film Cinematic Event – including when each of the four films will arrive in cinemas.
Who has been cast in The Beatles biopics?
Harris Dikinson will play John Lennon, Paul Mescal will play Paul McCartney, Barry Keoghan will play Ringo Starr and Joseph Quinn will play George Harrison.
When their involvement in The Beatles: A Four-Film Cinematic Event was first announced at an industry event in Hollywood on March 31, 2025, the foursome recited a song from the Beatles’ song 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.”
Speaking with People shortly before the cast was revealed, Ringo Starr himself said he was “excited” to see how the creative team rose to the challenge and the “madness of making four moves at the same time.”
“My life as a lad, John’s life, Paul’s life, George’s life, I mean, it must interact in some way,” he added as he reflected upon how each of the films would interweave.
“There’ll be Beatles in mine around when I joined, and there’ll be Beatles in Paul’s. We’ll all be there. So I’m excited to see what he does with it.”
What will The Beatles movies be about?
All four of The Beatles movies (which are collectively titled The Beatles: A Four-Film Cinematic Event) will tell a single story about the beloved band, through the inter-connected perspectives of each member.
According to Mendes, the story of the beloved band was “too big for one film” and would never work as a TV series which is why he wanted to make four separate films as a chance for fans to “understand them a little bit more deeply.”
“We intend this to be a uniquely thrilling and epic cinematic experience,” co-director Pippa Harris shared in a statement when the ambitious project was first announced.
Mendes also said at the time: “I’m honoured to be telling the story of the greatest rock band of all time, and excited to challenge the notion of what constitutes a trip to the movies.”
When will The Beatles movies be released?
While there were initially plans for all four films to be released throughout 2027, they will now be released in April 2028.
The Beatles formed back in 1960, changing the course of musical history forever. To this day, they are still regarded as the most influential band of all time.
The band produced 12 studio albums (17 in the US), 5 live albums, 51 compilation albums, 36 extended plays (EPs), 63 singles, 17 box sets, 22 video albums, and 53 music videos before breaking up in 1970.
Given their significant effect on the music industry, this isn’t the first film to be made about the iconic band.
About 18 biopics of the band have appeared on the big and small screen, including the most well-known being Backbeat and Nowhere Boy.
Many documentaries have also been released over the years including The Beatles: Eight Days a Week – The Touring Years and Get Back from 2021, a three-part eight-hour movie.
