Director Sam Mende’s Ambitious Plans to Direct Four Separate Beatles Movies
Paul, John, George, and Ringo are each getting their own biopic in director Sam Mendes’ hugely ambitious project. Considering it the Beatles-verse, a chance to get inside arguably the most iconic band of all time and view it from the perspective of each of its members.
Mendes seems like a great fit to tackle a one-of-a-kind approach to giving each member of the Beatles their cinematic due. It wouldn’t be the first time he’s taken on British royalty, so to speak—Mendes directed the James Bond films Skyfall and Spectre—and he’s got a long track record of great films besides those.
“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,” Mendes said in a statement.
The four films will be under the Sony Pictures banner, and all four are slated for a 2027 release. It’s an intriguing strategy, one that’s never been before, nor has a filmmaker ever created a film for each member of a band. The Beatles’ popularity seems to never wane, and given the success of recent musician biopics and music films, from Baz Luhrmann’s Elvis to Taylor Swift’s The Eras Tour to Reinaldo Marcus Green‘s Bob Marley: One Love, the genre is thriving.
Mendes’ upcoming quartet of films will be joining yet more major features pegged to musical legends set for release. Director Sam Taylor-Johnson’s Amy Winehouse biopic Back to Black is coming to theaters this May 10, while director Antoine Fuqua’s Michael Jackson biopic Michael is slated for an April 18, 2025 release.
Mendes also has something else major going for him—the support of the Beatles—marking the first time they’ve backed a scripted film based on their lives. Recently, Peter Jackson’s epic The Beatles: Get Back detailed the lead-up to their iconic live performance atop their Seville Row studio.
“We intend this to be a uniquely thrilling, and epic cinematic experience: four films, told from four different perspectives which tell a single story about the most celebrated band of all time,” said one of the film’s producers, Pippa Harris, in a statement. “To have The Beatles’ and Apple Corps’ blessing to do this is an immense privilege.”
Deadline first broke this story.
Featured image: LONDON – 1964: Rock and roll band ‘The Beatles’ perform onstage in a still from their movie ‘A Hard Day’s Night’ which was released in 1964. (L-R) Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr, George Harrison and John Lennon. (Photo by Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images)
