'The Beatles' Quadrilogy Gets a Trio of Writers, Including 'Wolf Hall' Scribe
John Lennon, George Harrison, Paul McCartney, and Ringo Starr in 'The Beatles'
Apple/Neal Street
It remains to be seen whether the deeply ambitious project currently being called The Beatles—A Four Film Cinematic Event will actually be the big screen success Sony hopes it will be. (The deeply painful title certainly doesn't help, though we will just politely ignore that boardroom-ese nonsense and keep calling it The Beatles Quadrilogy.) But even if the idea of "binge model" film releases doesn't jive with audiences, the film's success won't be for lack of quality. First, director Sam Mendes cast three prominent up-and-coming British actors (and the dude from Baby Girl) as the Fab Four. Now he's hired three topline writers, two of whom are the best working in the U.K. today.
Of the hires, Jack Thorne is the only one with household name status, though that's as much due to penning the Harry Potter & the Cursed Child script as it is being the writer behind the most recent Netflix smash hit Adolescence. He's also been the writer behind all three Enola Holmes films, all three seasons of His Dark Materials, the recent miniseries Best Interests and Toxic Town, the upcoming Lord of the Flies remake, and the David Tennant-Toby Jones follow-up to Mr Bates vs the Post Office, The Hack.
However, PBS fans may recognize the name Peter Straughan. Sure, his recent film, Conclave, became the movie to watch in the wake of Pope Francis' passing, but Straughan's bonafides aren't just on the big screen. He's also the sole writer behind all 12 scripts for Wolf Hall and Wolf Hall: The Mirror & The Light, making him the get of Mendes' trio.
The third and final writer joining the team is Jez Butterworth, a name less familiar to viewers, though also with a high-profile resume. For those who don't know, the Butterworth siblings, Jaz and John-Henry (called JH), have worked as a team on such series as The Agency and MobLand and the film Indiana Jones & The Dial of Destiny. Jaz also has solo credits on the James Bond film Spectre (which Mendes directed) and the Tom Cruise film Edge of Tomorrow. The Bond connection is undoubtedly why Butterworth is part of the team; however, if you look at the critical reviews of all these titles, you'll realize why of the three writers, Butterworth is definitely the weakest link.
As of this writing, it is unclear if each of these writers is taking on one film each (wth Mendes as the fourth writer) or if the plan is for the three to collaborate across all four movies. (One hopes it's the latter.)
Here is the unfortunately just-as-boardroom-developed synopsis for the quadrilogy, which makes the title look almost passible:
The movies mark the first time Apple Corps Ltd. and The Beatles—John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison, and Ringo Starr—or their estates have granted full life-story and music rights for a scripted film. As conceived by Mendes, who will direct the four movies, one from each band member’s point of view, they will intersect to tell the astonishing story of the greatest band in history.
No cast has been announced outside of the Fab Four, which will be played by Paul Mescal (All of Us Strangers) as Paul McCartney, Joseph Quinn (Les Miserables) as George Harrison, Barry Keoghan (Saltburn) as Ringo Starr, and Harris Dickinson (Baby Girl) as John Lennon. One assumes the rest will be announced in due course when filming commences in 2026 for a 2028 release.
The Beatles—A Four Film Cinematic Event will release one film per weekend on consecutive Fridays from April 7 to April 28, 2028.
