Yeah, Yeah, Yeah, Yeah: Director Sam Mendes To Tell the Story of The Beatles in 4 Interconnected Films
The Fab Four are going to be the Feature Film Four.
Director Sam Mendes is planning to make four separate movies about Beatles members John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. The four films, each shot from the point of view of one of the Beatles, will have an interconnected storyline.
That intersecting narrative will “tell the astonishing story of the greatest band in history,” leading up to their 1970 breakup, according to a press release. Apple Corps and the two living Beatles, Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr, along with the families of the late John Lennon and George Harrison have consented to the projects, giving Mendes full music rights and their life stories for these scripted films.
“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,” said Mendes in a statement.
Mendes, whose previous directing credits include 1999’s American Beauty and the James Bond movies Skyfall and Spectre, as well as the historical epic 1917, is working with Sony, who will release the four Beatles films in 2027.
“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,” co-producer Pippa Harris said in a statement. “To have The Beatles’ and Apple Corps’ blessing to do this is an immense privilege.”
Though The Beatles have been the subject of films before, including Peter Jackson’s Get Back which chronicled the creation of their album Let It Be, Ron Howard’s 2016 documentary The Beatles: Eight Days a Week, though neither was released theatrically. Lennon’s life story was the subject of the theatrical Nowhere Boy, but this marks the first time all of The Beatles (or their heirs) have consented to a scripted film.
Currently, the films are in the planning stage, with no scripts or cast just yet.
“Theatrical movie events today must be culturally seismic. Sam’s daring, large-scale idea is that and then some. Pairing his premiere filmmaking team, with the music and the stories of four young men who changed the world, will rock audiences all over the globe,” said Tom Rothman, chairman and CEO of Sony’s Motion Picture Group in a statement.