“American Beauty” Oscar winner and “Skyfall” director Sam Mendes is taking on the most ambitious project of his career thus far. The “1917” filmmaker is setting up a quartet of Beatles biopics with Sony Pictures Entertainment, Deadline first reported.
The project will feature four theatrically released films, with one told from each member of the Fab Four’s point of view. It will be the first time the Beatles’ company, Apple Corps Ltd., and the members of the Beatles or their estates have granted full life and music rights for a scripted film, according to Deadline.
Mendes will direct all four interconnected films, which are slated for a 2027 release. Writers are in the process of being hired, and a release schedule will be announced at a later date. Mendes will produce through his Neal Street Productions banner alongside his partner Pippa Harris and Julie Pastor. Jeff Jones will executive produce for Apple Corps Ltd.
The Beatles, of course, are the most famous and influential rock band of all time. Consisting of John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison, and Ringo Starr, the band is the top-selling musical group of all time, and their songs have become part of the fabric of culture in a way that few other artists have achieved. Their biographies, both individually and collectively, are well-known pieces of pop cultural history.
Parts of their story have been dramatized before, including in 1994’s “Backbeat”, about their early years in Hamburg, and 2009’s “Nowhere Boy,” about John Lennon’s teenage years, while other films have used their music, such as 2019’s musical romantic comedy “Yesterday” and 2007’s jukebox musical “Across the Universe.” And there are dozens of documentaries about the members’ lives and careers, together and individually. But Mendes’ suite of films will be on a larger scale than any previous project.
Mendes is a two-time Academy Award nominee for Best Director and one-time winner, for 1999’s “American Beauty,” which also won the Academy Award for Best Picture. He is also a two-time Tony Award winner for Best Director. His other films include 2008’s “Revolutionary Road” and the James Bond films “Skyfall” and “Spectre.” His most recent film, 2022’s “Empire of Light,” was nominated for a BAFTA for Best British Film.
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