Oscar-winning director Sam Mendes (American Beauty) has sealed the deal to helm and produce four movies on each of the Beatles. Yes, you read that correctly: four separate films, each one centering on John, Paul, George and Ringo.
McCartney, Lennon and Harrison harmonize on "This Boy," circa 1963.
With the full life and music rights of Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr and the families of George Harrison and John Lennon approved, the as-yet-untitled biopics will be released theatrically in 2027. Apple Corps, Ltd. and the Beatles have both given the go-ahead.
According to Deadline, who broke the story, Mendes will guide all four films, with separate viewpoints from each musician. The director, who also helmed two James Bond pics, Skyfall (2012) and Spectre (2015), pitched the audacious idea to Sony Pictures and says he was lucky enough to have two studio executives take on a fairly large task with a "commitment to propelling these films theatrically in an innovative and exciting way."
The Beatles at the press launch for 'Sgt. Pepper," London, May 1967.
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While there is considerable risk of releasing all four movies at the same time, music-based biopics have been proving a particularly hot commodity at the moment. With two major music films already in production – the Amy Winehouse film Back To Black (directed by Sam Taylor-Johnson, who piloted the John Lennon drama Nowhere Boy in 2009), and Antoine Fuqua turning Michael Jackson's storied career into Michael – there is also Ridley Scott's just-announced development of a Bee Gees movie on the horizon. Meanwhile, the Bob Marley biopic Bob Marley: One Love exceeded expectations at the box office over the past weekend, bringing in $50 million.
The Beatles have been the subject of countless documentaries in the past, including Peter Jackson's epic 2021 docuseries Get Back, on their January 1969 recording sessions, and Ron Howard's The Beatles: Eight Days a Week – The Touring Years. There have been a number of well-intentioned films that have depicted their interpersonal relationships both inside and outside the band as well, including Nowhere Boy, Backbeat (1994), The Hours and Times (1991) and one that was made during Lennon's lifetime, 1979's The Birth of the Beatles.
The Beatles on location in London during the filming of "A Hard Day's Night," April 1964.
"I'm honored to be telling the story of the greatest rock band of all time, and excited to challenge the notion of what constitutes a trip to the movies," said Mendes in a press release statement.
Tom Rothman, Chairman and CEO of Sony Pictures’ Motion Picture Group added in the press release, "Theatrical movie events today must be culturally seismic. Sam's daring, large-scale idea is that and then some. Pairing his premiere filmmaking team, with the music and the stories of four young men who changed the world, will rock audiences all over the globe. We are deeply grateful to all parties and look forward ourselves to breaking some rules with Sam's uniquely artistic vision."
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