Ringo Starr Says Barry Keoghan Will Play Him in the 'Beatles' Film Quadrilogy

The Beatles broke up over half a century ago, but the world's first significant boy band out of the U.K. still attracts viewership. Get Back, Let It Be, and the new Beatles '64 are all official hits on Disney+ (one of the streaming service's very few hits not branded Marvel, Star Wars, or Doctor Who). Get Back was such a hit when it landed in November 2021 that it got Hollywood looking to greenlight more on the Fab Four, eventually resulting in the grandiose announcement director Sam Mendes was officially taking on not one, but four full-length biopics, one per Beatle, telling the band's rise and fall from each perspective.

That winter was the middle of the peak pandemic, with the U.K. under Lockdown 2 and the U.S. still mostly shuttered. One couldn't make a half-hour's worth of television, let alone four films. Most people assumed the project would float away quietly, especially as the 2023 actors' and writers' strikes dragged on and studios started canceling stuff left and right.

However, Mendes kept his head down and his project quiet for long enough that it survived the culling. Now, with Hollywood desperately in need of some event films to bring viewers back to theaters, he's starting to cast the mop-top crew. According to former Beatle Ringo Starr, his role was the first to be cast, with Barry Keoghan (Saltburn) tapped to sit behind the drum kit in all four films.

There's no official synopsis for the four movies, just one overview of the project itself, though most people know the story of four boys from Liverpool who accidentally changed rock and roll.

As conceived by Mendes, who will direct, the four theatrical feature films – one from each band member’s point-of-view – will intersect to tell the astonishing story of the greatest band in history.

So far, Keoghan is the only cast member confirmed by anyone, though per the project description, one assumes he plays Ringo in all four films. There's also no indication of the upcoming quadrilogy's release order. However, the press release stated that "the dating cadence of the films" (aka which era of the Beatles each movie will cover in what order) "will be innovative and groundbreaking." 

“I’m honored 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,” said Sam Mendes.

The project marks the first time The Beatles (Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr, and the families of John Lennon and George Harrison) have granted full life story and music rights for a scripted film. Mendes will direct all four movies; no writers have been announced. Mendes will executive produce with Pippa Harris & Julie Pastor for Neal Street and Jeff Jones for Apple Corps Ltd. Sony Pictures Entertainment will finance all four films. 

The Beatles Quadrilogy of films is currently slated to start arriving in theaters globally in 2027.