The official lead cast of Sam Mendes’s four upcomingBeatles movieswas officially announced atCinemaCon 2025. The Oscar-winning director, known forAmerican Beauty,Skyfall,1917, and more is well into developing his ambitious four-film project about the legendary rock group, which will officially be titledThe Beatles – A Four-Film Cinematic Event.While there was speculation about which four lead actors would be cast as Beatles' members Paul McCartney, John Lennon, Ringo Starr, and George Harrison, Mendes took the stage at CinemaCon to confirm his main cast. Allfour Beatles movies are set to releasein theaters in April 2028.
According toVariety, Mendes hopes that this type of major cinematic event will get people off their streaming devices and into a packed movie theater. “We need big cinematic events to get people out of the house,” Mendes explained at CinemaCon 2025, where he confirmed his intention to make the “first binge-able theatrical experience.“It’s unclear at this time whether each of the four Beatles movies will be released on the same dayin April 2028 or will instead be released weekly throughout the month. The order of each Beatles movie’s release has also yet to be determined.
Paul Mescal Is Playing Paul McCartney
Known For Gladiator II & Normal People
Paul Mescal will play Paul McCartney in his standalone biopic. Mescal is fresh off his lead role as Lucius in Ridley Scott’s Gladiator II and has been in numerous critically acclaimed films, such asAftersunandAll of Us Strangers.He rose to prominence starring in 2020’s celebrated romance seriesNormal Peoplealongside Daisy Edgar-Jones ofTwisters. Mescal, who recently turned 29, is from Maynooth, Ireland, whereas McCartney is from Liverpool, England. Mescal has earned nominations for Oscar, Emmy, and BAFTA awards.
McCartney is one of two Beatles members who are still alive, along with Ringo Starr. Mescal will almost certainly be donning a beard to play a younger Paul McCartney, although it’s unclear which era of the Beatles' history McCartney’s biopic is set to portray. Mescal is one of the best young actors in Hollywood and certainly has the acting chops and range to portray McCartney.He played guitar and sang in one of his recent films, 2022’sCarmen, which shows promise for his ability to portray both McCartney’s personality and musical ability. Mescal is also physically similar enough that he should be able to pull off McCartney’s look.
Harris Dickinson Is Playing John Lennon
Known For The Iron Claw & Babygirl
Harris Dickinson will be portraying John Lennon in the upcoming Mendes biopic about the legendary singer, musician, and songwriter. Like Mescal, Dickinson has starred in many notable films in recent years, includingTriangle of Sadness,The Iron Claw, andBabygirl.Dickinson rose to prominence with 2017’s coming-of-age dramaBeach Ratsbefore going to to appear as Prince Philip inMaleficent: Mistress of Evil. Dickinson, who is 28 at the time of writing, is from London, England, not too far from where Lennon was born in Liverpool. Dickinson previously sang in a scene in the Hulu seriesA Murder at the End of the World.
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John Lennon was killed in December 1980 at the age of 40. While it’s unlikely that Dicksinson will portray a 40-year-old Lennon based on his current age, he will be in his early 30s by the time the Lennon biopic comes out, so there is a chance that Mendes will want to capture this infamous moment on film.Dickinson certainly has the physical profile to play Lennonbut will almost certainly have to grow out his hair or wear a wig and pick up some particular circular glasses. It’s unclear whether Lennon’s wife, Yoko Ono, will be portrayed in the Lennon biopic, although it is likely since she and Lennon got married in 1969.
Barry Keoghan Is Playing Ringo Starr
Known For Saltburn & Chernobyl
Barry Keoghan, like his aforementioned co-stars, is one of the top young actors working today and will portray Beatles drummer Ringo Starr in the upcoming Mendes biopic. After rising to prominence in Yorgos Lanthimos’The Killing of a Sacred Deer, Keoghan went on to appear in Christophen Nolan’sDunkirk,the HBO limited seriesChernobyl, and major feature films such asEternalsandThe Batman.He garnered critical acclaim for his roles inThe Banshees of Inisherin,Saltburn, and the Apple seriesMasters of the Air. He has been nominated for one Oscar and two BAFTAs, winning a BAFTA forInisherin.
Keoghan, who is currently 32, has a unique profile that certainly captures a similar essence to that of Ringo Starr. Known for playing more eccentric characters, it will be interesting to see Keoghan portray a more muted and musically talented Ringo, who was an instrumental and innovative part of The Beatles' percussive sound. Ringo Starr, who is now 84 years old, hasalready expressed his excitement at the upcoming Mendes biopics, saying, “I’m excited that [Mendes] has taken the madness of making four movies at the same time.” Starr expects some overlap between the four Beatles characters in all four films, which would surely be a cinematic feat.
Joseph Quinn Is Playing George Harrison
Known For Stranger Things & The Fantastic Four: First Steps
Joseph Quinn will portray the fourth member of The Beatles, guitarist George Harrison, who died at the age of 58 in 2001 in Beverly Hills, CA of lung cancer. Quinn is a British actor from London who just turned 31 years old in January. He rose to prominence by playing Eddie Munson inStranger Thingsseason 4, which led to all sorts of opportunities, such asA Quiet Place: Day One,Gladiator II, andthe highly anticipated upcoming filmsWarfareandThe Fantastic Four: First Steps.Quinn is also confirmed to appear as Johnny Storm / Human Torch inAvengers: DoomsdayandAvengers: Secret Wars.
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Harrison was an occasional songwriter for The Beatles, even though most of the songs were written by Lennon and McCartney. Based on the relative ages of the four actors cast for Mendes' Beatles movies,the actors will all be older than Paul, George, John, and Ringo(Paul was 28 when the Beatles' last albumLet It Bewas released). Mendes may focus on four different eras of The Beatles throughout their meteoric rise and dominance in the 1960s while also narrowing in on each of their individual perspectives across four films. With a great least cast, Mendes’Beatles biopicsshould be the major cinematic event he hopes it to be.
