The Beatles are back—at least on screen.
Director Sam Mendes (who has helmed 1917, Spectre, Revolutionary Road, and more) is creating four films about the legendary British group, in association with Sony Pictures Entertainment and Mendes’s Neal Street Productions. After Deadline first broke the news in February 2024, Ringo Starr 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, making this a major feat. Here’s what we know about the movies, officially titled The Beatles – A Four-Film Cinematic Event, so far.
Jump to:
Who will play the Beatles?
After much speculation, Sony Pictures confirmed the lead cast of the biopics during CinemaCon 2025: Harris Dickinson as John Lennon, Paul Mescal as Paul McCartney, Barry Keoghan as Ringo Starr, and Joseph Quinn as George Harrison.
The group rang in the news onstage at the Las Vegas event on March 31, 2025.
Paul Mescal, Joseph Quinn, Barry Keoghan, and Harris Dickinson at CinemaCon in Las Vegas on March 31, 2025.
The official announcement came after months of rumors and reports of the possible cast for this highly anticipated project.
In an interview with Entertainment Tonight, Ringo Starr seemed to confirm that Keoghan had been cast as his youthful doppelgänger. When asked about the actor 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.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, director Ridley Scott reportedly hinted that Paul Mescal was cast for the role of Paul McCartney during a Directors Guild of America event on Dec. 10, 2024. While also addressing Mescal’s potential involvement in his upcoming project The Dog Stars, Scott noted, “Yes. Well, maybe. Paul is actually stacked up, doing the Beatles next. So I may have to let him go,” suggesting Mescal’s role in the biopic series.
Mescal even addressed the speculation in an interview with Entertainment Tonight, calling the possible opportunity “a dream come true,” but did not confirm any involvement at the time.
In December 2024, Deadline reported that Stranger Things’ Joseph Quinn was likely signed on to play George Harrison, adding that he was seen carrying a guitar on set while filming the new Fantastic Four film.
Who else is in the cast?
According to Deadline, Saoirse Ronan will play Linda McCartney, Paul McCartney’s first wife and the mother of their daughter, designer Stella McCartney. Linda was a renowned photographer and musician who sadly passed away from breast cancer in 1998.
Paul Mescal and Saoirse Ronan will play Paul and Linda McCartney, respectively.
The cast also includes Anna Sawai, Aimee Lou Wood, and Mia McKenna-Bruce, per The Hollywood Reporter.
Sawai is set to play Yoko Ono, an artist and musician who married John Lennon and welcomed their son Sean Lennon in 1975. They remained married until John’s death in 1980.
Wood will play Pattie Boyd. Boyd was one of the biggest models of the era and was married to George Harrison. They divorced and she eventually married musician Eric Clapton.
