FEATURE:
Try to See It My Way…
IN THIS PHOTO: It has been announced that Aimee Lou Wood is a frontrunner to play Patti Boyd (for which Boyd has given her blessing) in Sam Mendes’s films about The Beatles, due for release in 2028/PHOTO CREDIT: Rosaline Shahnavaz for The Sunday Times
Why Recent Casting News Regarding Sam Mendes’s Beatles Films Is Hugely Positive
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WHEN the actors who are set…
IN THIS PHOTO: Sam Mendes (left) introduced the main cast of his upcoming four films about The Beatles on stage at CinemaCon earlier in the year/PHOTO CREDIT: Getty Images
to play The Beatles in four separate Sam Mendes films were announced earlier in the year, there was mixed reaction. I assume that the four films about The Beatles are not solely about the four members, Paul McCartney, George Harrison, Ringo Starr and John Lennon. I assume, from what we have heard, that the films will focus mainly on each member, but there will be interaction with the other members. Sam Medes will do justice to the Fab Four. And with the blessing of surviving members Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr, we will see what comes about in 2028:
“Paul Mescal and Barry Keoghan have been confirmed as part of the all-star line-up who will play members of the Beatles in four major new films about the band.
Normal People and Gladiator II actor Mescal will portray Sir Paul McCartney, while Saltburn star Keoghan will step into Sir Ringo Starr's shoes.
The acting supergroup will also feature Harris Dickinson, who was most recently seen opposite Nicole Kidman in Babygirl, as John Lennon.
And Joseph Quinn will go from Marvel's Fantastic Four to the Fab Four, playing George Harrison in the big-screen quadrilogy, which will be directed by Sir Sam Mendes.
The Oscar-winning director was joined by the four actors for the announcement at the CinemaCon convention in Las Vegas on Monday.
Each film will focus on a different member of the legendary group.
"Each one is told from the particular perspective of just one of the guys," Sir Sam told the event. "They intersect in different ways - sometimes overlapping, sometimes not.
"They're four very different human beings. Perhaps this is a chance to understand them a little more deeply. But together, all four films will tell the story of the greatest band in history."
The films will be released "in proximity" to each other in April 2028.
The director explained: "I just felt the story of the band was too huge to fit into a single movie, and that turning it into a TV mini-series just somehow didn't feel right”.
As a massive fan of The Beatles, when the main cast was announced, I was a bit miffed. In terms of the actors, I was looking for less well-known names who could get a break playing a member of the band, rather than established actors being cast. I guess their star power and cinematic pull is a big reason behind the casting. In terms of resemblance, one could argue that Barry Keoghan is best in terms of him resembling Ringo Starr. Paul Mescal too as Paul McCartney. I am not too sure regarding Joseph Quinn as George Harrison and Harris Dickinson as John Lennon. Also, in terms of casting, what out Liverpudlian actors? The ages of the four actors in relation to one another and even their heights. How convincing will they be?! I have come around more to the casting decisions, as the films will bring existing Beatles fans and new fans in. It will introduce their music to a whole new generation. Also, the pedigree of Paul Mescal, Harris Dickinson, Barry Keoghan and Joseph Quinn is clear. Humour is a massive part of The Beatles’ story, and I think the four have comedic chops and will bond easily. There is still massive interest in The Beatles. In December, it will be sixty years since Rubber Soul was released. Their sixth studio album, it is my favourite release of theirs. Next month sees the release of Anthology 4. You can pre-order the album here. The Beatles Anthology documentary series premiered on Disney+ on 26th November. Barely a year goes by without a bit of Beatles news. It is always welcomed! Books come out all the time and the fact we have two original members with us who love to talk about the band (when asked) means that the band’s legacy and meaning will ever dim. 2028 is going to be a massive year. Not only do we get these films released. There are various Beatles album anniversaries, including the sixty-fifth anniversary of their debut album, Please Please Me, and the sixtieth anniversary of The Beatles (a.k.a. The While Album).
I guess we could not judge the four films and what they would be like based off the announcement of who had been cast as Paul McCartney, John Lennon, Ringo Starr and George Harrison. People did feel that a lack of authenticity regarding accents – a lack of Liverpudlian actors – could extend to the actors cast to play Yoko Ono or Linda Eastman. In terms of making the wrong choices. However, in the last few days, there have been some very pleasing casting announcements. I almost feel that the more minor characters are more important, as they are less discussed. They also will give the four films a life and world beyond the band members. Getting the casting right there is crucial. Patti Boyd, who was married to George Harrison, has given her blessing to the actor who will most likely play her: Aimee Lou Wood. The esteemed and hugely respected actor, who is a wonderful comedic talent, will play the wonderful Patti Boyd. In terms of resemblance, I do think there are similarities between Wood and Boyd. It will be intriguing to see what era we are talking about. Maybe not when Patti Boyd and George Harrison first met (that would be on the set of The Beatles’ debut film, A Hard Day’s Night, of 1964, where Patti Boyd was in the cast). Also, some other names have been announced. Yoko Ono, far from splitting The Beatles up, was hugely important to their history and success! I think that she provided John Lennon inspiration and support to create some of his best work with the band. She was someone maligned and attacked who we should view as the brilliant human she was and is. Anna Sawai is most likely going to be be cast as Ono. I would love to see one or more of the films to be set maybe in 1967 or 1968. That would be between Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band (1967) and The Beatles (1968). Magical Mystery Tour came out in 1967 too. Seeing this relatively new marriage of Patti Boyd and George Harrison, and Yoko Ono and John Lennon intensifying their relationship (they married in 1969).
IN THIS PHOTO: Anna Sawai is hotly tipped to play Yoko Ono in Sam Mendes’s Beatles films/PHOTO CREDIT: Angella Choe for Wonderland
The two incredible actors playing these hugely important and strong women. As important as The Beatles themselves are, so too are the amazing women they married. Far from the dismissive and sexist term, ‘muse’, these women were brilliantly talented in their own right. Whilst Yoko Ono and Patti Boyd influenced some of the band’s most powerful and enduring songs – such as Something (from 1969’s Abbey Road) -, they also had their own important and successful careers. The casting news is speculation at the moment, so it is not 100% done that Aimee Lou Wood and Anna Sawai will play Patti Boyd and Yoko Ono, as Variety report:
“The deals for Sawai and Wood are not signed, however, and it’s not certain they will be cast. A representative of Sony Pictures had no comment.
As for the rest of the Fab Four, Paul Mescal is playing Paul McCartney and Barry Keoghan will star as Ringo Starr. Saoirse Ronan has been cast as McCartney’s first wife, Linda, who also performed in his post-Beatles band, Wings; Mia McKenna-Bruce is set to play Starr’s first wife, Maureen Starkey.
Mendes is making four separate movies, one from each Beatles member’s point of view. They will intersect to capture the band’s improbable journey from Liverpool to the center of global culture, leading to their 1970 breakup. The tagline, in other words, is “Each man has his own story, but together they are legendary.” All four installments will debut on the big screen in April 2028 in what Sony Pictures is dubbing the “first binge-able theatrical experience.” The exact release timeline is unclear.
Sawai, 33, rose to fame in Japan as a singer in the girl group Faky before breaking through internationally on the Apple TV+ series “Pachinko.” She scored an Emmy for the series “Shogun,” making her the first Japanese actress to win for lead actress. Sawai will also appear onscreen in director David Leitch’s heist film “How to Rob a Bank” and the Jeremy Allen White and Austin Butler-led crime drama “Enemies.”
Wood, 31, first starred in the Netflix teen dramedy “Sex Education” over four seasons from 2019 to 2023. She’s also appeared opposite Bill Nighy in the 2022 film “Living,” and she earned her first Emmy nomination in 2025 for her role in the third season of HBO’s “The White Lotus”.
IN THIS PHOTO: Might there be a role for the peerless Jodie Comer in one or more of the upcoming Beatles films?/PHOTO CREDIT: Scandebergs for GQ
In April, writing for The Guardian, film critic Peter Bradshaw bemoaned the lack of Liverpudlian talent announced for Sam Mendes’s Beatles films. However, he did suggest one name who I think would be perfect. In terms of playing Ringo Starr’s wife, Mo Starkey. Jodie Comer resembles the late great Mary Cox (her birth name), so I do hope that Comer gets that role, as she is one of our finest actors. It would also encourage more screen time for a part of The Beatles’ story that is not discussed enough. I think Mo Starkey is written out slightly. In terms of the most important women to The Beatles, few could compete with Linda Eastman. Paul McCartney’s first wife, we lost the photographer and musician in 1998. She was an extraordinary talent. We saw her in the Peter Jackson’s Beatles documentary, Get Back, in 2021. Again, a woman who inspired some phenomenal songs. Among them is Maybe I’m Amazed. That song appeared on Paul McCartney’s debut album, 1970’s McCartney. Linda McCartney also appeared on various Paul McCartney albums and she was a member of Wings. In terms of resemblance and actors who could play Linda Eastman, there are American actors Blake Lively, Emma Roberts, in addition to Australian actors Teresa Palmer and Olivia DeJonge. Even British actor Imogen Poots and Gabriella Wilde. However, American-Irish actor Saoirse Ronan is tipped to play Linda Eastman/McCartney. As this recent article confirms, it is another casting decision that is not a done deal. However, it seems likely Ronan will be cast:
“According to Deadline, multiple sources have claimed that the star of Little Women and Lady Bird will play the first wife of Paul McCartney in the upcoming set of biopics. The singer will be played by Paul Mescal, who starred alongside Ronan in the sci-fi drama Foe.
Sony has yet to make an official confirmation.
IN THIS PHOTO: Saoirse Ronan is rumoured to play Linda Eastman alongaside Paul Mescal’s Paul McCartney/PHOTO CREDIT: Nathan Merchadier for Numéro Magazine
Each of the four films will tell the story of a different Beatle with Barry Keoghan as Ringo Starr, Joseph Quinn as George Harrison and Harris Dickinson as John Lennon. Dickinson, who recently received acclaim for his directorial debut, Urchin, has said the prospect is “frightening” in an interview with the Times.
In July, Starr said he asked for changes in the script after meeting with Mendes but is now “much more satisfied with how he’s depicted in the script”. The scripts are being written by Jez Butterworth, Peter Straughan and Jack Thorne.
“The Beatles changed my understanding of music,” Mendes said in April. “I’ve been trying to make a movie about them for years.” He added: “There had to be a way to tell the epic story for a new generation. I can assure you there is still plenty left to explore and I think we found a way to do that.”
Ronan has received four Oscar nominations and was last seen in The Outrun and Steve McQueen’s Blitz. She recently led the dark comedy Bad Apples, which premiered at the Toronto film festival, and will also be starring with Austin Butler in Deep Cuts, a music drama based on Holly Brickley’s debut novel.
Linda and Paul McCartney met in 1967 when she was a photographer and they were married up until her death in 1998. She was part of his later band Wings and was an animal rights activist who wrote vegetarian cookbooks and founded a successful food company”.
There are other key players that have yet to be cast. Their producer, George Martin, and roadie Mal Evans. There is also their manager, Brian Epstein. I guess these details and castings will happen later, as we are not sure exactly how many years these films will span and which people will need to be portrayed. However, as the Fab Four are locked in and the brilliant women who are underdiscussed when it comes to The Beatles are pretty much set in stone, it looks interesting. Some phenomenal actors who will do justice to Patti Boyd, Yoko Ono and Linda Eastman (McCartney). We will wait to hear if Mo Starkey plays a role in these films and who will portray her. There is a long way to go until 2028, so we will get teaser clips and more news close to release date. In the meantime, there is going to be plenty of Beatles-related activity. I wonder if we will get remastered and reissued releases of Beatles albums like Rubber Soul or A Hard Day’s Night. There will be some interesting books and I am sure we will even get another documentary. Definitely some solo Ringo Starr work. Hopefully a new album from Paul McCartney (his most recent album, McCartney III, was released in 2020). I, like so many Beatles fans, are excited to see what Sam Mendes delivers in 2028. It is going to be fascinating seeing The Beatles’ individual members get their own films, though there will be plenty of moments of them together through different periods. Proof that The Beatles’ influence legacy and influence is as strong today as ever. Incredible films that put in the spotlight…
THE legendary band.