Sam Mendes to direct four separate Beatles movies on Paul McCartney, John

John, Paul, George and Ringo will each be the subject of a different feature film.

Director Sam Mendes plans to make four separate movies, one from each Beatles member’s point of view. They will intersect to “tell the astonishing story of the greatest band in history,” according to a press release. Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr, and the families of the late John Lennon and George Harrison, have granted full life story and music rights for the 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,” Mendes said in a statement.

Sony Pictures Entertainment will finance and distribute all four films theatrically in 2027. Details about release plans will be shared closer to the release, but the studio promises the strategy will be “innovative and groundbreaking.”

It would certainly be a risky endeavor to premiere all four films in the same year. However, musical biopics have been surging in popularity at the box office. Baz Luhrmann’s “Elvis” and Paramount’s “Bob Marley: One Love” were bigger than expected, while Taylor Swift’s “The Eras Tour,” a cinematic rendering of her record-breaking concert, outperformed several Hollywood franchises in terms of global ticket sales. Several others are in the works; Antoine Fuqua is turning Michael Jackson’s life story into a feature film, Amy Winehouse is getting the biopic treatment with “Back to Black” and Ridley Scott is in talks to direct a movie about the rise of the Bee Gees. 

In addition to directing, Mendes will produce alongside his Neal Street Productions partner Pippa Harris and Neal Street’s Julie Pastor. Jeff Jones will executive produce for Apple Corps Limited.

“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,” Harris said in a statement. “To have The Beatles’ and Apple Corps’ blessing to do this is an immense privilege.”

This is the first time the Beatles have granted their full support for a scripted film. The band has been the subject of several documentaries including the 1970s film “Let It Be,” which chronicled the group’s breakup, as well as Peter Jackson’s “Get Back,” which captured the making of making of the Beatles album “Let It Be.” Their songs also inspired films like the 2007 jukebox musical “Across the Universe” and 1978’s “Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band.”

“I know I speak for our CEO Tony Vinciquerra, who was instrumental in making this happen, and every Sony Pictures Motion Picture Group colleague around the world when I say: ‘yeah, yeah, yeah!’” said Tom Rothman, chairman and CEO of Sony’s Motion Picture Group. “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.”