'The Beatles' Quadrilogy Will Attempt to Create "Bingeable Event"
Harris Dickinson as John Lennon, Paul Mescal as Paul McCartney, Barry Keoghan as Ringo Starr and Joseph Quinn as George Harrison in 'The Beatles' - A Four-Film Cinematic Event
John Russo / Sony
CinemaCon 2025 is on, the annual week-long event in Vegas where theater owners are given a first look at the films studios will be releasing, hoping to convince them to buy in on the marketing and create buzz in the entertainment media before release. This event is where Downton Abbey's first two films were first screened and where blockbusters like the Avengers films and Wicked debuted. It's also where production studios announce details about long-lead projects that haven't started filming, and for 2025, the largest project simply in terms of ambition is The Beatles quadrilogy: Four films, one covering each era of the Fab Four, with one cast where each Beatle takes the leading POV in turn.
Since director Sam Mendes announced he was working on the quadrilogy, the casting of the legendary boy band has been one of Hollywood's hottest topics. Sony, which is producing all four films, refused to confirm any of the rumors, but it turns out they were all true. Barry Keoghan (Saltburn) will play Ringo Starr; Paul Mescal (All of Us Strangers) will play Paul McCartney; Joseph Quinn (Stranger Things) will take on George Harrison; and Harris Dickenson (Babygirl) will star as the ill-fated John Lennon.
However, the big announcement out of the event was not the reveal of what Hollywood had already pieced together; it was the title of the quadrilogy and the release dates, the latter of which is April 2028... for all four films.
John Lennon, George Harrison, Paul McCartney, and Ringo Starr in 'The Beatles'
Apple/Neal Street
The four films will be known collectively as The Beatles — A Four-Film Cinematic Event. Here's the synopsis:
“Each man has his own story, but together they are legendary.”
Unsurprisingly, Sony didn't reveal much more than that, including which Beatle would be the lead for which era or in what order the four films would arrive. That's right: all four films are slated for release in April 2028, but not all at once. All four will be filmed simultaneously, which Sony is budgeting a full two years to pull off. However, the plan is to release one film per weekend over the month of April, in what Mendes is billing as the first "cinematic bingeable event."
On stage at the presentation, Mendes said The Beatles “redefined the culture and stayed with you for a lifetime” and were “the most significant band of all time... I had been trying to do a film for years, but I finally gave up... The story was too big for one film, and a TV series was not quite right. There had to be a way to tell the epic story for a new generation … I can assure you there is still plenty left to explore, and I think we found a way to do that.”
The films have not revealed any casting details besides the Fab Four, but further announcements are expected closer to the start of filming. Mendes penned all four films and will direct. He also executive produces all four films with Pippa Harris & Julie Pastor of Neal Street and Alexandra Derbyshire in association with Apple Corps for Sony Pictures.
The Beatles — A Four-Film Cinematic Event will release one per weekend starting Friday, April 7, and then following with one film each on Friday, April 14, Friday, April 21, and Friday, April 28, 2028.
