Beatles biopics seem to be a rather common thing in modern-day cinema. Many directors have attempted to capture the magic of the Fab Four’s creative breakthroughs on the silver screen repeatedly, but somehow they manage to fade into obscurity and fly under the radar. Well now, that might be able to change completely. Sam Mendes, the director of famous movies such as 1917 (2019), American Beauty (1999), and Skyfall (2012), has teamed up with Sony and Apple Corps Ltd. to take up the challenge of directing four separate Beatles films sometime in 2027. With the blessing of both surviving members of the Beatles and the others’ families, each film will be from the different point of view of each of the four members, and will allegedly intersect at some point to tell the full story of how the group came to be. It’s certainly a bold way to tell the story since it’s never been done before and it’s four times the production cost of making one straightforward biopic on the Beatles. However the question is: What will become of these films? The movies aren’t set to come out for another few years and without something as simple as a cast listing for who will play which Beatle, the most we can do is speculate.

The concept of a “cinematic universe,” where a set of movies eventually combine to tell a full, cohesive tale, has been a trend in cinema for the past decade or so, and it’s arguably a pretty smart move. Studios can crank out multiple movies to keep the audience at the edge of their seats and ultimately make an absurd amount of money for each movie they produce. It also gives directors time to flesh out characters of a usually large cast if one movie focuses on just one character. So it feels much more fulfilling when a large cast of characters that audiences get to grow with individually come together to interact. The idea seems a little bit bold for a band since people usually only tend to recognize the frontman and lead guitarist, but a group like the Beatles has reached such a level of iconicity that each member is just as recognizable as anyone else. The fact that people debate which Beatle had the best solo career only amplifies how each member can confidently stand on their own, so a cinematic universe for the Fab Four doesn’t seem too out of the question.

A hot topic in the movie as of recently has been who will be cast to play each member. Once again, we have no official casting list yet, so everything about casting has been sadly chalked down to fan casts and rumors. The internet currently seems to like the idea of Paul Mescal as Paul McCartney, Harris Dickinson as John Lennon, Barry Keoghan as Ringo Starr, and Charlie Rowe as George Harrison. The main reasoning that every source had was simply that they’re up-and-coming British/Irish actors that resemble each respected member that they’re rumored to play. Each actor listed has a decent list of movies they’re in with Paul Mescal being in All of Us Strangers (2023), Aftersun (2022), and Gladiator II (2024). Barry Keoghan is known for Saltburn (2023) and The Killing of a Sacred Deer (2017). Harris Dickinson can be seen in Where the Crawdads Sing (2022) and Beach Rats (2017). Charlie Rowe has some notable roles in Rocketman (2019) and Never Let Me Go (2010). While the cast of the four Liverpool natives is still technically a rumor, it wouldn’t be surprising if  Mendes went with this cast considering it’s four young men from the British Isles who have made somewhat of a name for themselves. And even the more obscure picks like Harris Dickinson will help push him for better opportunities in the long run. So it seems to be a fairly balanced pick for the casting.

Overall, the four Beatles biopics are certainly a set of films to look out for in 2027. With a successful director behind the wheel and the possibility of a great cast of actors to bring justice to the portrayal of such a group of influential figures, it’s looking like the Beatles might finally get an iconic and successful biopic for the first time in history.