Irish actors Paul Mescal and Barry Keoghan will both star in "The Beatles - A Four-Film Cinematic Event," which is due for release in April 2028.
"Each man has his own story, but together they are legendary," the logline for the ambitious new project says.
Kildare native Mescal will be playing Paul McCartney while Dublin native Keoghan will feature as Ringo Starr.
Both Irish actors are Oscar-nominated - Mescal for "Aftersun" and Keoghan for "The Banshees of Inisherin."
Rumors that the two Irish actors were involved in The Beatles biopic were rife, though they were not officially confirmed until last night at CinemaCon in Las Vegas.
March 31, 2025: Paul Mescal (L) and Barry Keoghan (R) at CinemaCon 2025 for Sony Pictures. (Photos by Stewart Cook/Sony Pictures via Getty Images)
They will be joined by Joseph Quinn who is playing George Harrison and Harris Dickinson who stars as John Lennon.
March 31, 2025: Paul Mescal (L), Joseph Quinn, Barry Keoghan, and Harris Dickinson at CinemaCon 2025 for Sony Pictures. (Photo by Stewart Cook/Sony Pictures via Getty Images)
The cast of "The Beatles - A Four-Film Cinematic Event" took to the stage with director Sam Mendes at Sony’s CinemaCon presentation in Las Vegas last night, Monday, March 31.
“We’re not just making one film about the Beatles - we’re making four,” Mendes said at the event, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
Mendes, who admitted a television series about The Beatles didn't feel right, said he had been trying to do a film about The Beatles "for years," but "finally gave up" because the story was "too big for one film."
“There had to be a way to tell the epic story for a new generation," Mendes said, "I can assure you there is still plenty left to explore and I think we found a way to do that.”
Mendes claimed that Sony film boss Tom Rothman called the project “the first binge-able theatrical experience.”
Principal photography will take a year, Mendes added.
Concluding their CinemaCon appearance, Mescal, Keoghan, Quinn, and Dickinson quoted “Sgt Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band,” saying: “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.”
Invoking the Fab Four, the quartet took a bow in unison.
Variety noted that the film is also the first narrative feature to be granted music rights to The Beatles’ extensive catalog of hits, including “Strawberry Fields,” “Let It Be,” “I Am the Walrus,” “Yellow Submarine” and many more.
March 31, 2025: (L to R) Sam Mendes, Paul Mescal, Joseph Quinn, Barry Keoghan, and Harris Dickinson at CinemaCon 2025 for Sony Pictures. (Photo by Eric Charbonneau/Sony Pictures via Getty Images)
Sony Pictures Entertainment first announced the "groundbreaking creative endeavor to tell the story of The Beatles with four distinct theatrical feature films" in February 2024.
The project marks the first time Apple Corps Ltd. and The Beatles – Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr, and the families of John Lennon and George Harrison – have granted full life story and music rights for a scripted film, Sony said at the time.
Have you heard the news? Oh boy. We all support the Sam Mendes movie project. Yes, indeed. peace and love.😎🎶🌈✌️🌟❤️☮️ pic.twitter.com/byhnmVqsHY
— #RingoStarr (@ringostarrmusic) February 20, 2024
As conceived by Mendes, the four theatrical feature films – one from each band member’s point-of-view – will intersect to tell "the astonishing story of the greatest band in history."
Sony originally eyed a 2027 release, though that has now been pushed to April 2028.
"The dating cadence of the films, the details of which will be shared closer to release, will be innovative and groundbreaking," Sony said last year.
Mendes is directing and producing alongside his Neal Street Productions partner Pippa Harris and Neal Street’s Julie Pastor. Jeff Jones will executive produce for Apple Corps Ltd.
“I’m honored 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,” Mendes said upon last year's announcement.
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