There has never been a band comparable to the Beatles, so it stands to reason that capturing their music-altering run as a film would require an approach just as unprecedented.
That seems to be the logic behind Sony Pictures' The Beatles — A Four-Film Cinematic Event, the collection of biopics — each told from the perspective of an individual band member — officially unveiled at CinemaCon earlier this year.
The four interconnected films are currently casting up ahead of production and a planned 2028 release. On Friday, the studio confirmed the casting for the Beatles' wives:
Mia McKenna-Bruce will play Maureen Starkey, Saoirse Ronan will play Linda McCartney, Anna Sawai will play Yoko Ono, and Aimee Lou Wood will play Patti Harrison.
Here's everything you need to know about the ambitious project.
Who is playing the Beatles in the movies?
Sony understandably made a spectacle of their casting announcement, revealing the four leads for the "Cinematic Event" at CinemaCon, all of whom are actors on the rise from the British Isles.
Oscar nominee Paul Mescal will play Paul McCartney. Babygirl breakout Harris Dickinson will be John Lennon. The Banshees of Inisherin Best Supporting Actor nominee Barry Keoghan will play Ringo Starr. Stranger Things and The Fantastic Four: First Steps actor Joseph Quinn will be George Harrison.
Who else has been cast?
Casting outside of the Fab Four has picked up recently with Mendes adding actors to play romantic partners for each of the Beatles, as well as their manager.
Four-time Academy Award nominee Saoirse Ronan is on-board to play Linda McCartney. Mia McKenna-Bruce (How to Have Sex) is playing Starr's first wife Maureen Starkey. Emmy-winning Shōgun star Anna Sawai and recent Emmy-nominated The White Lotus player Aimee Lou Wood are confirmed for the roles of Yoko Ono and Harrison's first wife, Pattie Boyd, respectively.
Also reportedly joining the cast is James Norton (House of Guinness) as the man who helped shape the Beatles into the band that took over the world, manager Brian Epstein.
Who is writing and directing?
While Oscar winner and four-time nominee Sam Mendes is taking on directing duties for all four movies, a trio of writers are splitting up the scripts. Jez Butterworth (Ford v Ferrari), Oscar-winning Conclave scribe Peter Straughan, and recent Emmy winner for Adolescence Jack Thorne are all signed up for screenwriting duties, though it's unclear how the workload will be divided.
How will the four-film format work?
There aren't too many specifics yet, but we do know that the four films will each be led by a different Beatle and interconnect with the storytelling from the others.
Mendes explained some of his rationale behind the project to theater owners and press at CinemaCon. "I've been trying to make a film about the Beatles for years, but I had temporarily given up. I just felt the story of the band was too huge to fit into a single movie, and a TV series just somehow didn't feel right," he said. "I felt there simply had to be a way to tell a big story of those four extraordinary men for a new generation. I'm sure we all think we know a version of the Beatles' story, but I can assure you, there is still plenty to tell. I think we found a way to do that."
When do the movies come out?
One detail of the gambit that is clear is that the filmmakers are banking on a tight release window to keep the audience's attention across the four movies. The plan now is to release the entire quartet within a month of each other, sometime in April 2028.
What are its awards chances?
Here, we find a double edge to the concept. These will be musical biopics — catnip for awards bodies, who like to see actors singing songs they recognize — but they may also be destined to cannibalize each other. Everyone is a lead? Everyone is supporting in three other films? Everyone has a favorite Beatle!
How it all shakes out on the nominations list will be just another aspect to watch play out as the filmmakers attempt something truly unprecedented.
This story was originally published on Oct. 14, 2025 and updated Oct. 31 with confirmation of the casting of the Beatles' wives.
