Sam Mendes gives insight into why he’s making Beatles films

Director Sam Mendes has shared some of his thoughts about why he’s decided to make four films about The Beatles.

Mendes penned an article for The Times about his BBC2 World War II documentary, What They Found, and shared how his approach to that project is similar to his motivations behind The Beatles films.

“As a filmmaker, one is always looking to find new ways to look at the past. To turn historical events so they catch the light in new and different ways,” he shares. “My film 1917 was an attempt to do this. The Beatles films we are making now also fall into this category. And here again I felt the same portal to the past had been opened.”

Mendes’ Beatles project, The Beatles – A Four-Film Cinematic Event, is set to be released in April 2028. The films, each focused on a different member of the band, will star Harris Dickinson as John Lennon, Paul Mescal as Paul McCartney, Barry Keoghan as Ringo Starr and Joseph Quinn as George Harrison.

The Sony films will mark the first time Apple Corps Ltd. and The Beatles have granted a studio the rights to the life stories of band members and their legendary catalog of music.

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