NEW YORK (AP) — The Beatles are to be given the big-screen biopic treatment in not just one movie, but a Fab Four movie that will spotlight each band member individually, all starring Sam Mendes. It will be supervised by a director.
For the first time, the Beatles, who have long been among the stingiest in granting rights, will give full life and music rights to a film project. Sony Pictures on Monday announced a deal that could dwarf previous music biopics, expanding the stories of Paul McCartney, John Lennon, George Harrison and Ringo Starr into four films.
These films devised by Mendes can coexist or intersect within theaters, and are expected to be released theatrically in innovative ways. Exact release plans will be announced at a later date. Sony is aiming for a release in 2027.
McCartney, Starr, and the families of John Lennon and George Harrison all agreed to the project through their band Apple Corps. Sony Music Publishing controls the rights to most of the Beatles’ songs.
The Beatles are treated as biopics:
“I’m honored to be able to tell the story of one of the greatest rock bands of all time and excited to challenge notions of what moviegoing means,” Mendes said in a statement.
Each film is told from the Beatles’ point of view.
Producer Pippa Harris said: “We intend to make this a unique, thrilling and epic cinematic experience. Four films told from four different perspectives, one story about the most famous band of all time. I will tell you,” he said. “It is a great honor to have the Beatles and Apple Corps congratulate us on this.”
The Beatles’ most famous foray into film came in their early years. From 1964 to 1970, they appeared in five films, including A Hard Day’s Night (1964) and the animated film Yellow Submarine (1968). Of course, they have been the subject of many documentaries, most recently Peter Jackson’s 2021 film The Beatles: Get Back.
In 2023, the Beatles reunited with the help of artificial intelligence for the newly released song “Now and then.” The recording was made possible by the same technology Jackson used for “Get Back,” and also included a music video produced by a New Zealand director.
Attempts to dramatize the Beatles story have been sporadic and less influential. The 1979 biopic “Birth of the Beatles,” when John Lennon was still alive, was made with original Beatles drummer Pete Best as an advisor. The 1994 indie drama Backbeat depicts the relationship between John Lennon and Stuart Sutcliffe before the Beatles became famous. Aaron Taylor-Johnson played the teenage Lennon in Nowhere Boy (2009).
But in the last decade, music biopics have become big business. With box office hits like “Bohemian Rhapsody,” “Rocketman” and “Elvis,” Hollywood executives are chasing the next big jukebox hit. Over President’s Day weekend, “Bob Marley: One Love,” produced in conjunction with the Marley Estate, was the No. 1 movie in theaters. A Michael Jackson biopic is in the works.
“Today’s theatrical film events must be culturally shocking. Sam’s bold, big ideas are all that and then some,” said Sony Pictures Film Group Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. Director Tom Rothman said.
The combination of the music and stories of Mendes’ team and “four young men who changed the world will rock audiences around the world,” Rothman said. “We are deeply grateful to all involved and look forward to breaking some rules with Sam’s unique artistic vision.”
