Why Hollywood Can't Resist the Beatles
It’s official: the Beatles movie project is really happening. Director Sam Mendes announced this week he’s making four films about John, Paul, George, and Ringo, opening in theaters in April 2028. After months of rumors, he finally confirmed the cast at Cinema Con in Las Vegas. Paul McCartney is Paul Mescal from Normal People; Ringo Starr is Barry Keoghan from Saltburn. George Harrison is Joseph Quinn, who played Eddie Munson in Stranger Things and the Human Torch in the upcoming Fantastic Four movie. John Lennon is Harris Dickinson, last seen spending a few hard day’s nights with Nicole Kidman in Babygirl.
The new Fab Four came out in Vegas, took an Ed Sullivan-style bow, and recited lines from “Sgt. Pepper.” “It’s wonderful to be here,” they told the crowd of theater owners. “It’s certainly a thrill. You’re such a lovely audience, we’d like to take you home with us.”
Beatles fans have been buzzing with questions ever since the project was first announced, over a year ago. There’s so much we don’t know about (to use the clunky official title) The Beatles – A Four-Film Cinematic Event. We’ve seen a lot of Fabs movies over the years, yet there’s no precedent for one this ambitious. The rest of the cast remains unknown, but according to a confidential source, the Walrus is Paul.
All four lads are played by famous movie stars with their own acclaimed careers, grown men who’ve spent more time in the gym this week than the band did in their lives. They’re already veterans — Barry Keoghan is 32, which was Ringo’s age when the band broke up. (The youngest, Dickinson, is 28; John was up to “Revolution #9” by then.) The tag is a not-especially Beatles-level catchphrase: “Each man has his own story, but together they are legendary.” That’s Hollywood-speak for “toppermost of the poppermost.”
Source: rollingstone.com/Rob Sheffield
