Development '' (2022) By late 2023, director
Sam Mendes began discussing plans to make films regarding the English rock band,
the Beatles, with
Sony Pictures Entertainment (SPE). He had met with SPE's
Tom Rothman and Elizabeth Gabler, and stated that he had chosen SPE due to "Tom and Elizabeth's passion for the idea and commitment to propelling these films theatrically in an innovative and exciting way." Mendes had conceived of the idea in 2022 and convinced the estates of each of the band members. By February 2024, SPE and Mendes's production company
Neal Street Productions finished a deal to produce four distinct films, or one for each band member:
John Lennon,
Paul McCartney,
George Harrison, and
Ringo Starr. The estates and families of each band member also granted full life story and musical rights for the films, while Mendes was granted creative freedom.
Bob Spitz, who wrote
The Beatles: The Biography (2005), was collaborating with the filmmaker, and expected his book and interviews to help influence the script. In March 2025, at an
industry convention CinemaCon in
Las Vegas, Rothman described the quadruple premiere as "the first
bingeable theatrical experience."
Casting In June 2024,
Harris Dickinson,
Paul Mescal,
Barry Keoghan, and
Charlie Rowe were in contention to play the members. Keoghan as Starr was confirmed in November 2024. Mescal was confirmed as McCartney in December with
Joseph Quinn cast as Harrison.
Anna Sawai was rumored to have been cast as
Yoko Ono, but Sawai would dispute this in February 2025. At CinemaCon in March 2025, Dickinson as Lennon and Quinn as Harrison were confirmed, with the pair appearing on stage alongside Mendes, Mescal as McCartney, and Keoghan as Starr. In October 2025, it was announced that
Saoirse Ronan would play
Linda McCartney, while
Mia McKenna-Bruce was cast as
Maureen Starkey. Sawai would additionally be officially confirmed as being in discussions the role of Ono, with
Aimee Lou Wood in negotiations to portray
Pattie Boyd. Meanwhile,
James Norton was cast as
Brian Epstein. The castings of McKenna-Bruce, Ronan, Sawai and Wood would be officially confirmed at the end of October. In November 2025,
Harry Lloyd joined the cast. In December,
David Morrissey,
Leanne Best,
Bobby Schofield, Daniel Hoffman-Gill,
Arthur Darvill and
Adam Pally were added to the cast.
Lucy Boynton,
Farhan Akhtar,
Morfydd Clark, and
Harry Lawtey would be cast in February 2026. In preparation for her role as Yoko Ono, Anna Sawai has been consuming media related to and produced by the artist. She hoped that the films will help clear up public misconceptions and share Yoko’s perspective. Sawai enthused about Mescal, Dickinson, Keoghan, and Quinn’s “surreal” musical harmony during their rehearsals.
Filming Production was set to begin by mid-2025, with the intention of shooting all the films
back-to-back. In March 2025, Mendes said that it would take him more than a year to shoot all four movies. In January 2026, Mescal stated production was still "a while away from finishing", with filming to be "my job for all of 2026". Scenes recreating the band arriving in
New York City for
The Ed Sullivan Show were filmed in
London in February. The crews for the films will consist of cinematographer
Greig Fraser, editor
Lee Smith, production designers Stefania Cella,
Mark Tildesley and Neal Callow, and costume designer Sinéad Kidao. == Marketing ==