The Beatles are getting 4 intersecting biopics
Director Sam Mendes is making four separate movies, each told from the perspective of one band member


What happened?
Director Sam Mendes will make four separate movies about the Beatles, each told from the perspective of one band member, Mendes and Sony Pictures said Tuesday. Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr and the families of the late John Lennon and George Harrison have signed off on the project, with full life and music rights.
Who said what?
"I'm honored to be telling the story of the greatest rock band of all time," Mendes said. "We intend this to be a uniquely thrilling, and epic cinematic experience," said producer Pippa Harris.
The commentary
When Mendes pitched his "grand vision" of "interconnected stories" from each Beatle, "just about everyone flipped their mop-tops for it," Mike Fleming Jr. said at Deadline. Now, "let the buzz begin on who might be right to play each Beatles member."
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
What next?
The four movies are "expected to roll out theatrically in innovative fashion," potentially "coexisting or intersecting in theaters," The Associated Press said. Releasing them in the same year, tentatively 2027, "would certainly be risky," Variety said, but music movies "have been surging at the box office."
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.
-
The week's best photos
In Pictures A silver-painted boy, a raging flood, and more
-
Roblox, one of the world's most popular video games, has become a bastion of hate speech
The Explainer The platform has over 111 million daily users
-
Russian strike on Kyiv kills 23, hits EU offices
Speed Read The strike was the second-largest since Russia invaded in 2022
-
Film reviews: Eden and Honey Don't!
Feature Seekers of a new utopia spiral into savagery and a queer private eye prowls a high-desert town
-
Florida erases rainbow crosswalk at Pulse nightclub
Speed Read The colorful crosswalk was outside the former LGBTQ nightclub where 49 people were killed in a 2016 shooting
-
The 5 best zombie movies of all time
The Week Recommends Ghouls feasting on flesh have been a staple of cinema for more than 50 years
-
Film reviews: Highest 2 Lowest and Weapons
Feature A kidnapping threatens a mogul's legacy and a town spins into madness after 17 children disappear
-
Every MCU movie since 'Avengers: Endgame,' ranked
The Week Recommends How did the recent 'Fantastic Four: First Steps' stack up?
-
Trump says Smithsonian too focused on slavery's ills
Speed Read The president would prefer the museum to highlight 'success,' 'brightness' and 'the future'
-
Confessions of a Brain Surgeon: an 'exceptional' documentary
The Week Recommends Retired neurosurgeon Henry Marsh reflects on his pioneering work with exquisitely 'raw honesty'
-
The best singers turned actors of all time
In Depth It's not often that someone is born with both of these rare skill sets