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Sam Mendes, the acclaimed director behind "Skyfall," is helming an ambitious quartet of The Beatles biopics. Just days after co-producer Pippa Harris reaffirmed the filmmakers’ determination to release all four movies at once, The Hollywood Reporter published a deeper look at the rollout strategies currently under consideration at Sony Pictures.
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Production has been underway for some time, with all four movies shooting concurrently. Each installment will tell the band’s story from the perspective of a different member. Given the project’s unusual narrative structure and subject matter, Mendes and Sony have remained committed to releasing all four films on the same day in April 2028.
There is virtually no precedent for a theatrical rollout on this scale, leaving plenty of questions about how it would actually work. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Sony is weighing several options. One possibility would see the studio report the four films’ box-office earnings as a single combined total rather than disclose each movie’s individual performance. That could prevent the public from seeing whether most moviegoers only turned out for films centered on the more popular members. However, The Hollywood Reporter noted that independent box-office trackers could still provide the media with separate figures for each installment.
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Another idea under consideration is a four-movie ticket bundle designed to encourage fans to buy admission to the entire series instead of picking only one or two installments. Sources also said Sony does not want audiences to believe the movies must be watched in a particular sequence. The marketing campaign would stress that there is no single correct viewing order. None of these plans has been finalized, however, and the strategy could still change.
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The cast includes Barry Keoghan as Ringo Starr, Joseph Quinn as George Harrison, Paul Mescal as Paul McCartney and Harris Dickinson as John Lennon. Anna Sawai will play Lennon’s second wife, Yoko Ono, while Saoirse Ronan stars as McCartney’s first wife, Linda Eastman. Aimee Lou Wood rounds out the announced ensemble as Harrison’s first wife, Pattie Boyd.
The writing team brings together "Conclave" screenwriter Peter Straughan, "Ford v Ferrari" co-writer Jez Butterworth, "Adolescence" creator Jack Thorne and Krysty Wilson-Cairns, who previously collaborated with Mendes on "1917." The project also marks the first scripted film production to receive full life-story and music rights from The Beatles.