Actors playing The Beatles in Sam Mendes’ biopics announced

The Oscar-winning director will bring the Fab Four back to the big screen with The Beatles – A Four-Film Cinematic Event, an ambitious multi-part biopic touted the first ‘binge-able theatrical experience’.

Meet the Fab Four: Harris Dickinson as John Lennon, Paul Mescal as Paul McCartney, Barry Keoghan as Ringo Starr, and Joseph Quinn as George Harrison.

Sam Mendes has unveiled the cast for his ambitious Beatles biopic project, with Harris Dickinson as John Lennon, Paul Mescal as Paul McCartney, Barry Keoghan as Ringo Starr, and Joseph Quinn as George Harrison.

The four actors, among the most sought-after of their generation, will each star in a separate film depicting the life of one of the Beatles. These films, which tell the band’s story from each member’s perspective, will all be released in April 2028. “We’re not just making one film about the Beatles – we’re making four,” Mendes said.

Officially titled The Beatles – A Four-Film Cinematic Event, Mendes said that each instalment in the multi-part biopic will be the “first binge-able theatrical experience.”

Mendes, the Oscar-winning director of American Beauty, 1917, and Skyfall, appeared on stage at CinemaCon in Las Vegas alongside his Fab Four, confirming that the films will mark the first time the band’s estates and Apple Corps have granted full life story and music rights for a scripted project. “This is a chance to understand them a little more deeply.”

Paul Mescal, Joseph Quinn, Barry Keoghan and Harris Dickinson. Picture: Jerod Harris/Getty Images for CinemaCon

Mendes said he had been trying to tell The Beatles’ story for years but previously abandoned the idea, finding the scope too vast for a single film and unsuitable for television.

“There had to be a way to tell the epic story for a new generation,” he said. “I can assure you there is still plenty left to explore and I think we found a way to do that.”

The casting only confirms what was already glaringly obvious: Dickinson, Mescal, Keoghan, and Quinn are the golden boys of their generation, with the quartet stepping into the biggest roles of their careers.

Dickinson, tapped to play Lennon, built his reputation in indie hits like Beach Rats and Triangle of Sadness before crashing into the mainstream last year opposite Nicole Kidman in the erotic drama Babygirl.

Mescal, as McCartney, went from television heartthrob in Normal People to an arthouse heavyweight with Aftersun, earning an Oscar nomination before landing Gladiator II—in which he also shares the screen with Quinn. Keoghan, meanwhile, earned his first Oscar nomination in 2023 for his devastating turn in The Banshees of Inisherin.

On stage, the actors recited lines from Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band: “It’s wonderful to be here, it’s certainly a thrill, you’re such a lovely audience, we’d like to take you home with us.”

Much of the casting had been the subject of speculation. Last year, Ridley Scott accidentally confirmed that Mescal, his star in Gladiator II, was attached to the project.

Starr also appeared to hint at Keoghan’s involvement, saying, “I believe he’s somewhere taking drum lessons, and I hope not too many.”