Sam Mendes Directing 4 Beatles Biopics, Each From Different Band Member's POV

By Emily Richardson | Film | February 20, 2024 |

By Emily Richardson | Film | February 20, 2024 |

Rockstar biopics are a dime a dozen in Hollywood, but we’ve never actually had a proper movie about the Beatles. Until now. Today, Sam Mendes announced his plans to make four separate films about the band, each from a different member’s perspective. According to a press release, the four movies will intersect to “tell the astonishing story of the greatest band in history,” leading up their 1970 breakup. Obviously, Ringo’s will be the funnest.

In case you’re worried about these movies going full Jackie Jormp-Jomp aka Janis Joplin, the Beatles (Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr, and the families of the late John Lennon and George Harrison) have granted their full life story and music rights for the films. So don’t expect any tunes with titles like “All You Require Is Heart,” “A Difficult Day’s Evening,” and “Squid’s Backyard.”

Sony will release all four movies in 2027. Details about their exact plan haven’t been shared, but the studio says the strategy will be “innovative and groundbreaking.” So, like, each of them three months apart? In addition to directing (damn, was Peter Jackson busy?), Sam Mendes will produce alongside Pippa Harris and Julie Pastor. Pippa says:

“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. To have The Beatles’ and Apple Corps’ blessing to do this is an immense privilege.”

And now we brace ourselves for a year of casting rumors. Ugh, Harry Styles is gonna be in the mix, isn’t he? Also, can I please request that the actor who plays John Lennon not permanently adopt a nasally Liverpudlian accent for the rest of his career, a la Austin Butler’s Elvis twang? There’s only so much more pretentious actor bullshit I can take before I abscond into the woods, never to be seen again.