Sam Mendes, his Neal Street Productions banner and Sony Pictures Entertainment are coming together right now to make four different Beatles movies — one each for John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison, and Ringo Starr.
The American Beauty, Skyfall and 1917 director will helm all four films, which will each tell interconnected stories, but from the four different members’ perspectives. Mendes will also produce alongside his Neal Street Productions partner Pippa Harris and Neal Street’s Julie Pastor. Jeff Jones will executive produce for Apple Corps Ltd.
This is the first time ever that Apple Corps Ltd., McCartney, Starr, and Lennon and Harrison’s estates have all given their approval for full life story and music rights for scripted films.
The Beatles Movies Coming From Sam Mendes
“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 in a statement obtained by MovieMaker.
“We intend this to be a uniquely thrilling, and epic cinematic experience: four films, told from four different perspectives which tell a single story about the most celebrated band of all time,” said Harris. “To have The Beatles’ and Apple Corps’ blessing to do this is an immense privilege. From our first meeting with Tom Rothman and Elizabeth Gabler, it was clear that they shared both our passion and ambition for this project, and we can’t think of a more perfect home than Sony Pictures.”
The actors who will play each Beatle have not yet been cast. It’s also unclear whether McCartney or Starr themselves will make cameos in any of Mendes’ films.
The plan is for Sony Pictures Entertainment to finance and distribute all four films in 2027.
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Before The Beatles broke up in 1970, the fab four starred in multiple films, including Richard Lester’s A Hard Day’s Night in 1964 and Help! in 1965. They also made a few unscripted films including Magical Mystery Tour (1967) and Let It Be (1970) in addition to making cameos in the animated movie Yellow Submarine (1968).
John Lennon notably acted in How I Won the War in 1967, while Ringo Starr has had several prominent acting roles including in The Magic Christian (1969), Candy (1968), Blindman (1971), Son of Dracula (1974) and Caveman (1981).
Paul McCartney starred as himself in 1984’s musical drama Give My Regards to Broad Street as a pop star who fears his career will be over if he doesn’t find his missing masters by midnight. He’s also has appeared in 1987’s Eat the Rich, 2017’s Pirates of the Carribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales, 30 Rock, and voiced a roles in BoJack Horseman and The Simpsons.
George Harrison appeared in Eric Idle and Gary Weis’ comedy spoof The Rutles: All You Need Is Cash in 1978, voiced a role on The Simpsons, and appeared in Shanghai Surprise (1986), A Private Function (1984), Checking Out (1988), and Monty Python’s Life of Brian (1979).
Main Image: The Beatles in a still from A Hard Day’s Night. United Artists
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