Sam Mendes to Direct Four Separate Beatles Movies, 2027 Release Set

The iconic English rock band The Beatles — consisting of John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison, and Ringo Starr — will be the subject of a new feature.

Director Sam Mendes has been tapped to direct four separate movies one from each Beatles member’s point of view. 

The movies will intersect to “tell the astonishing story of the greatest band in history,” leading up to their 1970 breakup, according to a press release. 

Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr, and the families of the late John Lennon and George Harrison all have granted full life story and music rights for the scripted films.

Sony Pictures Entertainment will finance and distribute the movies theatrically in 2027. The studio promises the strategy will be “innovative and groundbreaking.”

Despite it being risky to premiere all four movies in the same year, music movies, however, have been surging in popularity at the box office. Baz Luhrmann’s “Elvis” and Paramount’s “Bob Marley: One Love” were bigger hits 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 other looks at musical legends are in the works; Antoine Fuqua is turning Michael Jackson’s life story into a feature, 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, the multi-media organization founded by the Beatles in 1968.

This is the first time the Beatles have granted their full support for a scripted movie. The band has been the subject of several documentaries including the 1970s movie “Let It Be,” which chronicled the group’s breakup, as well as Peter Jackson’s “Get Back,” which captured the making of their album “Let It Be.” 

Their songs also inspired movies like the 2007 jukebox musical “Across the Universe” and 1978’s “Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band.” Despite their global following, not everything the Beatles touch turns into cinematic gold — “Across the Universe” flopped, for instance.

The members also appeared in their own movies, including 1964’s “A Hard Day’s Night,” 1965’s “Help!,” 1967’s “Magical Mystery Tour” and 1968’s “Yellow Submarine.”