To say The Beatles are one of the most famous musical bands in history would be an understatement. With songs like “Hello, Goodbye,” “Hey, Jude,” “Come Together” and “All You Need is Love,” Paul McCartney, John Lennon, Ringo Starr and George Harrison became the best-selling musical act of all time and rank as some of the 20th century’s most prominent individuals. So naturally more than 50 years after The Beatles’ dissolution, there are still plenty of people interested in them, with proof of that including the release of the three-part documentary The Beatles: Get Back to Disney+ subscribers in 2023.
But now The Beatles are about to be spotlighted on screen in a way that’s never been done before, as it’s been announced that director Sam Mendes is spearheading multiple movies centered on the band. It’s reminiscent of how Kevin Costner is dedicating four movies to the story he’s telling in Horizon: An American Saga, but what exactly can we expect from these Beatles movies? That’s what we’re here to talk about.
What Is The Release Date?
Although none of these Beatles movies have specific release dates yet, per Deadline, which broke the news about these flicks, shared they will have “full theatrical windows in 2027.” That indicates that rather than Sony Pictures, the studio distributing these movies, releasing them all at once or week after week, there will be several months between each release, allowing moviegoers enough time to process the cinematic story they watched before moving on to the next one. According to THR, production is expected to begin in the United Kingdom in mid-2025.
Who Are Playing The Beatles?
None of the Beatles have been cast in these four movies yet. It’s hard to say whether established names will be selected to play Paul McCartney, John Lennon, Ringo Starr and George Harrison, or if unknowns will instead be brought aboard. However, since these movies will be following along with these men during their heyday of fame when they were younger, there’s a solid case to be made for the latter, and the movies would result in these actors gaining worldwide fame.
There Will Be 4 Movies, One For Each Beatle
Rather than cover The Beatles across one biopic, this project is dedicating four feature films to these musical icons. As an added twist, each movie will focus on a different band member’s point of view, with all of the stories being “interconnected.” So although we’ll see Paul, John, Ringo and George in all of these movies, each one will see one of the men taking center stage while the others occupy supporting positions. As such, it’s reasonable to assume that along with certain events being re-explored in each of these movies from different perspectives, there will also be opportunities to go down narrative paths that only involve the central Beatle, depending on the movie.
The Story Will End With Their 1970 Breakup
Paul McCartney, John Lennon, Ringo Starr and George Harrison may have continued to produce music for their solo careers after the Beatles dissolved, but it sounds like that won’t be explored in any of these upcoming movies. Per an official press release (via Variety), the Beatles movies will wrap up with their breakup in 1970. It’s possible that in the midst of each Beatles’ narrative being covered, there will be post-1970 flash forwards to show where these men ended up in life, but since these movies are specifically centered around the band when they were together, it’s doubtful a lot of screen time will be dedicated to what happened afterwards.
Sam Mendes Is Directing All Four Movies
With a resume that includes American Beauty, Road to Perdition, Skyfall, Spectre and 1917, it’s safe to say that Sam Mendes remains one of Hollywood’s most talented directors. Still, the prospect of directing four movies like this back-to-back-to-back-to-back would surely be daunting for any filmmaker. And yet, Mendes has taken it upon himself to helm and produce all four of them, though that’s not surprising since, per the Deadline story, he “conceived this grand vision.”
Each Movie Will Be Tackled By A Different Writer
In addition to being a talented director, Sam Mendes also finally got to stretch his scriptwriting muscles with 1917 and Empire of the Light. However, when it comes to these Beatles movies, it sounds like he’ll be leaving the writing duties to others. It’s been said that different writers are being sought to work on the movies, as opposed to just one writer/writing duo handling all four. Now since these movies will be part of an interconnected story, you can bet on these writers staying in contact with one another to ensure there’s proper continuity, with Mendes leading this team.
These Are The First Scripted Movies About The Beatles Ever Made
To be clear, the Beatles are no stranger to cinema. Not only did Paul, John, Ringo and George lead the movies A Hard Day’s Night, Help!, Magical Mystery Tour and Yellow Submarine, they’ve also been the subject of several documentaries, and their music has been prominently featured in movies like Across the Universe and Yesterday (with the latter being possible thanks to a deal between Working Title Films and Apple and Sony). They even once tried to get their own Lord of the Rings adaptation off the ground.
However, Sam Mendes’ Beatles movies are the first time that scripted cinematic stories about these men have been approved by Paul and Ringo, as well as John and George’s estates. All four band members’ full life story and music rights have been granted by those individuals and Apple Corps Ltd., the corporation that manages The Beatles’ music and various other media ventures. Given the success of music biopics from recent years like Bohemian Rhapsody, Elvis and Bob Marley: One Love, making a movie about The Beatles would be a no-brainer, but releasing four movies about them across the span of a year could lead to this becoming the cinematic event of 2027.
CinemaBlend will continue sharing the big updates on how Sam Mendes’ Beatles movies are progressing, so keep your eyes peeled. In the meantime, find out what movies are coming out later this year with the 2024 release schedule.
