After Apple Corps Ltd and The Beatles (John Lennon, George Harrison, Ringo Starr and Paul McCartney) granted the story and music rights to make a feature film out of the British band, Sam Mendes was roped in as the director to helm the four films, each from the viewpoint of the band's members, writers of the project have been announced.
The Beatles - A Four-Film Cinematic Event, by the Neal Street Production in association with Apple Corps for Sony Pictures, will be penned by Jez Butterworth, of Ford v Ferrari fame, Peter Straughan, of Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy fame, Jack Thorne, of Adolescence fame.
Notably, Straughan has won the Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay category for the 2024 political thriller Conclave, directed by Edward Berger. Butterworth's other writing credits include Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny, Spectre, Edge of Tomorrow and Black Mass. Thorne recently collaborated with Mendes in the play The Motive and the Cue. His other notable film credits are The Swimmers, Enola Holmes and Enola Holmes 2.
The film will star Harris Dickinson as John Lennon, Paul Mescal as Paul McCartney, Barry Keoghan as Ringo Starr and Joseph Quinn as George Harrison.
With Sony Picture financing and distributing the film worldwide, Neal Street Productions' Pippa Harris and Julie Pastor will be joined by Mendes and Alexandra Derbyshire as producers.
The film's theatrical windows are timed for April 2028.