The Fab Four has finally been announced in this four-film cinematic debut, but how will they fare against stiff competition in the biopics universe, and where can you see them first?
Sony Pictures has announced the impressive new cast of The Beatles – A Four-Film Cinematic Event as Paul Mescal (Paul McCartney), Harris Dickinson (John Lennon), Barry Keoghan (Ringo Starr) and Joseph Quinn (George Harrison).
Coming to cinemas in 2028, it’s directed by Sam Mendes who has a long history with musicals and film, directing an original West End stage musical for the first time with Charlie and the Chocolate Factory in 2013. For his work on the London stage, Mendes has received three Laurence Olivier Awards, and on Broadway in New York he’s earned two Tony Awards.
In film, he made his directorial debut with cult drama American Beauty in 1999, which earned him the Academy Award and Golden Globe Award for Best Director. He has since directed many blockbusters including the hit James Bond films Skyfall and Spectre, with Adele’s amazing theme tune to match. So, while this might seem like an odd choice for a musical biopic, he’s clearly got the chops.
BIOPICS BUZZ
The genre has become mainstream in the last two decades, starting (in our minds) with Joaquin Phoenix perfectly impersonating Johnny Cash in Walk The Line in 2005. Reese Witherspoon stole the show as his love interest (and later wife) June, winning Best Actress at the 78th Academy Awards, and deservedly so. Their duets capture the chemistry and dulcet tones of the couple, who were married for 35 years and who died within months of each other in 2003. The ultimate love story!
In 2018, Rami Malek’s portrayal of Queen’s Freddie Mercury in Bohemian Rhapsody earned him the Golden Globe, SAG and BAFTA awards for Best Actor, with the film winning Best Motion Picture at the 76th Golden Globes. There was no way he could reach Freddie’s high notes, though, so he was criticised for lip syncing, while Taron Egerton took on the even more daunting role of playing a living legend a year later in Rocketman, which paid off as he won a Golden Globe for Best Actor. He got the part after his rendition of “I’m Still Standing” in animated children’s film Sing caught the attention of Elton John himself.
That same year, Reneé Zellweger became Judy Garland, based on the Olivier- and Tony-nominated West End and Broadway play End of the Rainbow. She won the Academy Award, Golden Globe, SAG Award, BAFTA and Critics’ Choice Award, with the soundtrack – featuring duets with Sam Smith and Rufus Wainwright – nominated for a Grammy Award. The film also stars our own Jessie Buckley, but we must admit we want to hear more of Reneé’s vocals in other movies. We’re calling for another instalment of Bridget Jones after Mad About The Boy, where she and the loveable Hugh Grant could fall in love over karaoke, perhaps?!
An authorised biopic on Whitney Houston’s tragic life, I Want to Dance With Somebody, with Naomi Ackie in 2022, and Marisa Abela as Amy Winehouse in Back to Black in 2024, both received mixed reviews.
Several actors have taken on the roles of Elvis, successfully, including Austin Butler opposite heavy-hitter Tom Hanks, or Jacob Elordi in Sofia Coppola’s Priscilla. Of course, the latest turn is with Timothée Chalamet transforming into Bob Dylan in A Complete Unknown. Also a producer, and with the same director as Walk The Line, he worked with Butler’s team of vocal and movement coaches, spending years learning to play guitar and the harmonica. Tall order, indeed.
As for Beatlemania, a young Aaron Taylor-Johnson attempted a Liverpudlian accent as Lennon, alongside Kristin Scott Thomas Anne-Marie Duff, in Nowhere Boy in 2009 (where he met future wife Sam Taylor-Johnson in her directorial debut), but no-one has been brave enough to become the Fab Four until now.
Check out the cast’s colourful careers and where you can see them until then:
Harris Dickinson as John Lennon
Harris has had an impressive trajectory in the last five years. He jumped straight into huge franchises from the beginning, starting with Disney’s Maleficent: Mistress of Evil in 2019 with Angelina Jolie, Michelle Pfeiffer, Elle Fanning, Imelda Staunton, Juno Temple, Lesley Manville, and Chiwetel Ejiofor. Then in the third and final installment of the popular Kingsman film series, The King’s Man, in 2021 with Ralph Fiennes (an executive producer), Gemma Arterton, Rhys Ifans, Tom Hollander, and appearances from Stanely Tucci and Aaron Taylor-Johnson.
He transfixed in satirical black comedy Triangle of Sadness in 2022 with Woody Harrelson, which received an eight-minute standing ovation at the 75th Cannes Film Festival. And Where the Crawdads Sing, also that year, with Daisy Edgar-Jones (maybe Daisy introduced him to Paul Mescal?) and an original song “Carolina” by Taylor Swift.
He can certainly shine in an ensemble cast as seen in Iron Claw in 2023 where he plays one of the brothers in a famous wrestling family with Zac Efron, Jeremy Allen White from The Bear, and Lily James and Maura Tierney in supporting roles. He appeared in 2024’s historical war drama Blitz – written, produced and directed by the legendary Steve McQueen – with Saoirse Ronan, Kathy Burke, Paul Weller, and Stephen Graham (check out his tour de force in Adolesence.)
And need we say much about last year’s Babygirl when he went head-to-head with Nicole Kidman (or, should we say, head-to-toe in a strange scene in a motel where she licks milk from a saucer like a cat, while he stands over her). The erotic thriller saw huge media interest for the unusual CEO/intern submissive/dominant role reversal, but a lot of viewers just couldn’t get behind the plot. She would risk her marriage to her loving husband, brilliantly played by Antonio Banderas, for this?!
Harris has been in a longterm relationship with musician Rose Gray since secondary school, and he has directed several of her music videos. He also makes his directorial debut this year with a film called Urchin, starring Frank Dillane as a young Tom Riddle in Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. He may seem like an unusual choice as Lennon, but he must have the necessary skills to pull it off. We certainly hope so, for his sake!
Paul Mescal as Paul McCartney
Critics say Paul is more like Lennon, but Mendes clearly doesn’t think so. He performed on stage for the first time at age 16 as The Phantom of the Opera, he plays the piano, and has performed with singers Nell (his sister) and Dermot Kennedy, so we know he has musical talent.
On the acting front, from skyrocketing to the big screen after Normal People with Daisy Edgar-Jones, he’s held his own against other Irish stars including Saoirse Ronan in Foe, Andrew Scott in All of Us Strangers, and Hollywood A-listers Connie Nielsen, Denzel Washington, Pedro Pascal (and Joseph Quinn, interestingly) in Gladiator II. In fact, it was during the film’s promotion that director Ridley Scott (who, matter of fact, cast him after being impressed with his performance in Normal People) inadvertently revealed his casting as McCartney, in an interview with fellow director Chris Nolan. Paul is next assuming the role of another iconic writer, William Shakespeare, with Jessie Buckley as his wife in a new adaptation of Hamnet, set for release later this year.
Barry Keoghan as Ringo Starr
We know from Barry’s many myriad roles that he’s not afraid to take risks. He shared the screen with Colin Farrell, Brendan Gleeson and Kerry Condon in the critically-acclaimed Banshees of Inisherin, and put serious artistic license to the test in Saltburn (that ending, need we say more?)
Following his latest films, Bird and Bring Them Down, he’s lined up with Jenna Ortega and Charli D’Amelio in a musical psychological thriller that serves as a companion piece to The Weeknd’s album, Hurry Up Tomorrow. We’re intrigued.
His involvement in the Beatles’ biopic was the first to be announced, with Ringo letting slip in an interview, “I believe he’s somewhere taking drum lessons, and I hope not too many.” It’s a certainty that Barry can pull this off as he doesn’t do anything by half measures, so we’re excited to see the direction he takes.
Joseph Quinn as George Harrison
Finally, to Joe Quinn, the only one with actual links to Liverpool. While he’s from London, his mum hails from the city, where he still has family. Pray he does them proud! He was beloved in Netflix’s Stranger Things and played a blinder – literally – nailing Metallica’s “Master of Puppets” in the finale. The son of Metallica bassist Robert Trujillo helped with the solo and got a big thumbs up from the band. He also showed that he can command a screen in Gladiator II and A Quiet Place: Day One with Lupita Nyong’o, Emily Blunt and Cillian Murphy. He’ll enter the Marvel Cinematic Universe this year as the “Human Torch” in The Fantastic Four: First Steps; a role he will reprise in Avengers: Doomsday next year and Avengers: Secret Wars in 2027.
So, he’ll be busy until 2028 when we get to see him as Harrison – an international star in his own right. Following the Beatles disbanding in 1970, he continued to produce with Ringo, and his triple album “All Things Must Pass” that same year has since been certified six-times platinum. He collaborated with a wide range of artists, including Bob Dylan and Eric Clapton, and released two successful albums as the Traveling Wilburys with Dylan, Tom Petty, Roy Orbison and Jeff Lynne. We can’t wait to see how these four tackle these roles of a lifetime. A true make or break career move, fingers crossed it’s the former …
