Throughout the day today, you may have seen multiple jokes across the internet with fake marketing strategies from big companies such as Dunkin Donuts and Duolingo, and even fake casting rumors in celebration of April Fools day, (I even fell for one about the upcoming Hunger Games movie..), but this is no joke.
The Beatles, composed of Paul McCartney, John Lennon, Ringo Starr, and George Harrison were one of the most influential bands of the 60s and 70s, with hits like “Here comes the sun” and “Let it be”. They redefined music through their unique sound styles and vocalized social issues of their time through their songs.
As of today, we now know that there will be four full-length films on the members of the band. The project was first referenced back in 2024 by director Sam Mendes, but today at CinemaCon the four films were confirmed as Mendes referred to the quartet of films as “the first bingeable moment in cinema.” Think of it as the next “Glicked” or “Barbenheimer”, but four interconnected movies!
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Here's everything we know so far about the four movies!
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Get notified of top trending articles like this one every week! (we won't spam you)Who Will Direct the Films?
As mentioned previously, British director Sam Mendes will be directing all four of the upcoming films. Mendes is most notorious for directing “American Beauty” (2000) which resulted in an Oscar win for best director. He has also directed “Skyfall” (2012) and produced “1917” (2019), with three Oscar nominations.
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What Will the Films Focus On?
The official logline is as follows, “Each man has his own story, but together they are legendary.” The plots of the movies have not been explicitly stated or confirmed, but because of this line, we can assume that the four films will diverge into the life stories of the four members of the band. Mendes also noted that “the story was too big for one film.”, leading me to question if aspects of each film will be connected, as their lives were.
When Will the Films Come Out?
Mendes has said that the films are set to come out in April of 2028, but has not given a specific order or date as to when each movie will be released. There has yet to be confirmation as to when production starts, but Mendes has mentioned that it would take more than a year to film all four of the movies.
Who Will Play the Beatles?
Starting in early 2024, rumors of the casting arose after the concept for a movie revolving around the band was confirmed. The rumors were confirmed as the casting for “The Fab Four” was announced at CinemaCon earlier today. All four of the actors were seen on stage as they recited a line from The Beatles song, “Sgt Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band” song, 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.”
Harris Dickinson as John Lennon
Harris Dickinson is a British actor, director, and writer known for his acting roles in “Where the crawdads sing” (2022), “The Iron Claw” (2023), and “Babygirl” (2024), which garnered him with internet fame as his iconic dancing scene with the song “Father Figure” by George Micheals went viral on Tik Tok.
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Barry Keoghan as Ringo Starr
Barry Keoghan is an Irish actor known for his acting roles in “The Banshees of Inisherin” (2023), and “Saltburn” (2024), and “The Eternals” (2022). He was previously nominated for an Oscar and two Golden Globe awards. He is also notorious for his appearance in Sabrina Carpenter’s Please Please Please music video, and is set to star in The Weeknd;Abel Tesdaye’s film, Hurry Up Tomorrow.
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Joseph Quinn as George Harrison
Joseph Quinn is a British actor known for his acting roles in “A Quiet Place: Day One” (2024), “Gladiator II” (2024) , and “Stranger Things” (Season 4, 2023). He is a part of the highly anticipated Fantastic Four Film coming out on July 25th of this year, and was just recently announced to be joining the cast of Avengers: Doomsday and Avengers: Secret Wars.
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Paul Mescal as Paul McCartney
Paul Mescal is an Irish Actor known for his acting roles in “Normal People” (2020), “Gladiator II”, (2024), and “Aftersun” (2022), which he was nominated for an Oscar for. He also starred in Phoebe Bridgers Savior Complex music video.
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Public Reaction To Casting
Though some believed that the cast, full of men referred to as the “Internet’s Boyfriends” were a great choice to preserve the legacy of the Beatles given their experience, the announcement of the cast also came with lots of discussion. Many who weren't in favor of the casting felt unimpressed by the mainstream actors, with some questioning why lesser-known actors were not chosen for the opportunity.
The topic of looks were debated as well, with opposers claiming that they didn’t look like the Fab four, others angered by the fact that none of the actors were from Liverpool, where the four members were from.
Do you think that the casting was a good decision?
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Significance of the Films
The creation and licensing of these films will mark the first time that Apple corps ltd, a multimedia company owned by the Beatles themselves, have granted life stories and rights to the music of The Beatles. Ringo Staar himself has vocalized his support for the films, which leads me to question if maybe he and Paul McCartney will be at the premiere!
The films will be able to share the stories of the four members to a new generation of music fans, and will be a unique film experience like no other. I myself am very excited for the release of these films and look forward to experiencing them in theaters!
