Sony has announced the cast set to portray the Beatles in four biopics, each focussing on a different band member.
The studio confirmed the long-awaited casting choices at CinemaCon in Las Vegas.
Paul Mescal will play Paul McCartney, Joseph Quinn will play George Harrison, Barry Keoghan will play Ringo Starr, and Harris Dickinson will play John Lennon.
Director Sam Mendes, who has been developing a story about the Fab Four for years, revealed the films will premiere in April 2028, describing the release strategy as the “first binge-able theatrical experience”.
“I’ve been trying to make a story about The Beatles for years,” he said.
While the Beatles’ rise to fame has been well-chronicled over the years, “I can assure you that there is still plenty to explore”, Mendes, who won an Oscar for American Beauty, said.
Paul Mescal, left, Joseph Quinn, Barry Keoghan, and Harris Dickinson at CinemaCon (Invision)
The four films will be released “in proximity” to each other, he said.
“Frankly, we need big cinematic events to get people out of the house.”
The CinemaCon convention draws thousands of movie theatre employees from around the world each year, as all the major Hollywood studios make big presentations packed with film clips, trailers and stars to make the case that their upcoming slate will lure audiences to theatres.
Sony also brought out Oscar-winning filmmaker Danny Boyle to debut the new trailer for 28 Years Later, his long-awaited zombie apocalypse sequel to 28 Days Later hitting theatres in June.
The four films will each focus on a different member of the Fab Four (PA Archive)
The team behind Spider-Man: Beyond the Spider-Verse also appeared to tease their third film in the Spider-Verse trilogy.
CEO Tom Rothman encouraged movie theatre owners to get creative with weekday discounts, and Sony executive Adam Bergerman made the case for keeping films in cinemas for longer.
The convention comes fresh off an Oscars rallying cry for seeing movies in theaters.
Although a fuller release schedule is expected this year compared to 2024’s depleted calendar thanks to dual historic strikes, Hollywood marked the first quarter of 2025 with a sizable box office deficit.
Sales are down 11 per cent from the same point in 2024, and nearly 40 per cent from 2019, according to media analytics company Comscore.
