The acclaimed crew of screenwriters lined up to pen the scripts for director Sam Mendes’ four Beatles films has been revealed. The names, first reported by Deadline, and confirmed by the official Beatles website, include Tony Award-winning writer Jez Butterworth (Ford v Ferrari, Spectre) Oscar winner Peter Straughan (Conclave, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy) and BAFTA- and Tony Award-winner Jack Thorne (Adolescence, Enola Holmes).
At press time it was unknown how the workload will be shared and if each writer will work on their own film or if they will collaborate on all four of the titles that are being collectively referred to at the moment as The Beatles — A Four Film Cinematic Event. The films mark the first time Apple Corps. Ltd. and the Beatles have granted full life story and music rights for a scripted film. Each movie will tell the story of one of the members, with all four intersecting “to tell the astonishing story of the greatest band in history,” according to a release.
The casting for the films was recently revealed, with Harris Dickinson (Triangle of Sadness, The Iron Claw) slated to play John Lennon, Barry Keoghan (Saltburn, Hurry Up Tomorrow) taking on Ringo Starr, Paul Mescal (Gladiator II, Aftersun) playing Paul McCartney and Joseph Quinn (Gladiator II, The Fantastic Four: First Steps) suiting up as George Harrison. No other casting details have been announced so far.
At CinemaCon in March, director Mendes said the films will provide “a chance to understand them a little more deeply,” adding that the group “redefined the culture and stayed with you for a lifetime.” He also said that he’d been trying to make a Beatles film “for years,” but struggled to fit the story into one movie and was not interested in trying to tell the tale in a television series. The movies, distributed by Sony Pictures, are slated to hit screens in April 2028.
