There are only two members of The Beatles still living — but all four will be treated to an individual biopic as part of a movie series created by an Oscar-winning director.
It’s been announced the Fab Four are getting the big-screen biopic treatment in not just one, but four films that will give each band member their own spotlight.
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All will be directed by Sam Mendes, whose previous credits include American Beauty and the James Bond films Skyfall and Spectre.
For the first time, the Beatles, long among the stingiest rights granters, are giving full life and music rights to a movie project.
Sony Pictures announced a deal that may dwarf all music biopics that have come before it, with the stories of Paul McCartney, John Lennon, George Harrison and Ringo Starr spread out over a quartet of films.
Precise release plans will be announced at a later date, but Sony is targeting 2027 for their release.
McCartney, Starr and the families of John Lennon (who died in 1980) and George Harrison (who died in 2001) have all signed off on the project.
“I’m honoured 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.
Each film will be from the perspective of a Beatle.
“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,” said producer Pippa Harris.
The Beatles’ most famous forays into film were in their early years.
Between 1964 and 1970, they appeared in five movies, including A Hard Day’s Night (1964), Help! (1965) and the animated Yellow Submarine (1968).
They’ve also been the subject of many documentaries, most recently Peter Jackson’s acclaimed 2021 documentary Get Back.
Last year, the Fab Four reunited with the aide of artificial intelligence in a newly released song called Now and Then.
The recording was made possible by technology used by Jackson on Get Back, and featured a music video made by the New Zealand director.
Attempts to dramatise the Beatles’ story have been more sporadic and less impactful.
The 1994 indie drama Backbeat chronicled Lennon’s relationship with Stuart Sutcliffe before the Beatles were famous.
Nowhere Boy (2009) starred Aaron Taylor-Johnson in his breakout movie role as a teenage Lennon.
But in the last decade, music biopics have become big business.
Box-office hits such as Bohemian Rhapsody, Rocketman and Elvis have become major box office hits.
More recently, Bob Marley: One Love became a box office hit in the US, while a Michael Jackson biopic is currently in production.
“Theatrical movie events today must be culturally seismic,” said Tom Rothman, chair and chief executive of Sony Pictures’ Motion Picture Group.
“Sam’s daring, large-scale idea is that and then some.”
The combination of Mendes’ team “with the music and the stories of four young men who changed the world, will rock audiences all over the globe”, Rothman added.
The success of the release of Now and Then, downloaded by millions around the world on Spotify upon its release, proves there is still a major appetite for Beatles content.
And drummer Ringo Starr, 83, is excited about this next phase of Beatlemania.
“Have you heard the news? Oh boy,” he wrote on X (formerly Twitter).
“We all support the Sam Mendes movie project.
“Yes, indeed. peace and love!”
Starr’s followers were excited by the news.
“Hope to see all 4 movies!” one fan wrote.
“Should be wonderful.”
“YESSSS CAN’T WAIT,” added another.
“I can’t wait for 2027 to arrive.”
— With CNN and AAP
