The Beatles are getting 4 intersecting biopics

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."

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

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.

Sign up

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."