Sony has announced the cast set to portray the Beatles in four biopics, each focussing on a different band member.
The studio confirmed the long-awaited casting choices at CinemaCon in Las Vegas.
Paul Mescal will play Paul McCartney, Joseph Quinn will play George Harrison, Barry Keoghan will play Ringo Starr, and Harris Dickinson will play John Lennon.
Director Sam Mendes, who has been developing a story about the Fab Four for years, revealed the films will premiere in April 2028, describing the release strategy as the “first binge-able theatrical experience”.
“I’ve been trying to make a story about The Beatles for years,” he said.
While the Beatles’ rise to fame has been well-chronicled over the years, “I can assure you that there is still plenty to explore”, Mendes, who won an Oscar for American Beauty, said.
The four films will be released “in proximity” to each other, he said.
"Frankly, we need big cinematic events to get people out of the house."
The CinemaCon convention draws thousands of movie theatre employees from around the world each year, as all the major Hollywood studios make big presentations packed with film clips, trailers and stars to make the case that their upcoming slate will lure audiences to theatres.
Sony also brought out Oscar-winning filmmaker Danny Boyle to debut the new trailer for 28 Years Later, his long-awaited zombie apocalypse sequel to 28 Days Later hitting theatres in June.
The team behind Spider-Man: Beyond the Spider-Verse also appeared to tease their third film in the Spider-Verse trilogy.
CEO Tom Rothman encouraged movie theatre owners to get creative with weekday discounts, and Sony executive Adam Bergerman made the case for keeping films in cinemas for longer.
The convention comes fresh off an Oscars rallying cry for seeing movies in theaters.
Although a fuller release schedule is expected this year compared to 2024’s depleted calendar thanks to dual historic strikes, Hollywood marked the first quarter of 2025 with a sizable box office deficit.
Sales are down 11 per cent from the same point in 2024, and nearly 40 per cent from 2019, according to media analytics company Comscore.
The stars
Mescal shot to stardom during the pandemic for his role in BBC miniseries Normal People, based on the novel of the same name by Irish author Sally Rooney. He has since appeared in the romantic fantasy film All of Us Strangers alongside Andrew Scott.
Keoghan has received praise for his roles in The Killing Of A Sacred Deer and The Banshees Of Inisherin, both opposite Colin Farrell, and starred in blockbuster Marvel film Eternals with Angelina Jolie. His scenes in Saltburn went viral when he was seen dancing naked around a luxury manor to Sophie Ellis-Bextor’s ‘Murder On The Dancefloor’.
Dickinson played kidnapping victim John Paul Getty III in the Danny Boyle series Trust and a wrestler in The Iron Claw before appearing opposite Nicole Kidman in the erotic thriller Babygirl.
Quinn appeared in cult classics Stranger Things and Game of Thrones before being cast as one of the two feuding Roman emperors in Gladiator II. He will next be seen in the Marvel film The Fantastic Four: First Steps, where he will portray Johnny, the Human Torch.
Alex Garland’s Iraq film Warfare offers only violence – to its detriment: review
Daisy Edgar-Jones makes a refreshing statement about her male co-stars
London’s oldest art fair marks 40th year with new works by celebrated British artists
Andy Peebles, the last journalist to interview John Lennon, dies aged 76
John Lennon’s son Sean brutally hits out at Snow White star Rachel Zegler
Looney Tunes fans rejoice after Coyote vs Acme film is saved from Warner Bros vault
