The Beatles are finally getting the Hollywood treatment — and in true Fab Four fashion, it’s unlike anything that’s ever been done before.
While countless music icons have inspired major biopics, a Beatles movie has always seemed out of reach. Between the astronomical cost of music rights and the complexity of telling their story, no filmmaker has ever attempted a fully licensed scripted Beatles biography. That changes in 2028, when Sony Pictures releases not one, but four separate Beatles films — each focused on a different band member.
Oscar-winning director Sam Mendes (Skyfall, 1917) is at the helm of the ambitious project, which will star Paul Mescal as Paul McCartney, Harris Dickinson as John Lennon, Joseph Quinn as George Harrison and Barry Keoghan as Ringo Starr. Mendes described the concept during Sony’s 2025 CinemaCon presentation, saying, “We need big cinematic events to get people out of the house.”
Each film will hit theaters in April 2028, marking what Sony Pictures CEO Tom Rothman called “the first bingeable theatrical experience.” He explained to The Hollywood Reporter in 2024, “You have to match the boldness of the idea with a bold release strategy. There hasn’t been an enterprise like this before, and you can’t think about it in traditional releasing terms.” While the exact release order hasn’t been confirmed, all four films are planned to premiere within the same month.
Unlike previous projects that featured Beatles-inspired music, these films will have unprecedented access to both the band’s music and their life stories. Apple Corps — the company founded by the four Beatles in 1968 — has given its blessing, granting full music and life rights to Mendes and Sony. That means, for the first time ever, fans will hear original Beatles songs woven into a scripted retelling of their rise, relationships and legacy.
Ringo Starr publicly threw his support behind the project when it was announced, writing on social media, “We all support the Sam Mendes movie project. Yes, indeed.” He also reacted to Keoghan’s casting as him, telling Entertainment Tonight, “I think he’s great, I believe he’s somewhere taking drum lessons. I hope not too many.”
Scroll through our gallery to see who’s playing who in the Beatles biopic.
