The Beatles are back once again. Following the November 2023 release of a new song, “Now and Then,” in which old recordings of John Lennon and George Harrison were edited using AI and put together with new music and vocals from Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr, famed director Sam Mendes, along with Sony Pictures, plans on releasing four movies about The Beatles. Each movie will follow one of the band’s four members. This marks the first time that The Beatles and their families have allowed for their story to be put in a feature film.
The Beatles are no strangers to the film industry: In 1964, they made their feature film debut in “A Hard Day’s Night,” a comedy that followed a day in their lives as they tried to avoid crowds of fans. They followed the film with their 1965 movie “Help!” and later worked on an animated film in 1968 called “Yellow Submarine.” Their music has also been the centerpieces of other films, such as 2007’s “Across the Universe,” which follows a group of teenagers in the 1960s, and 2019’s “Yesterday,” which imagines a world where the Beatles never existed and are only remembered by one songwriter, who takes credit for their work.
Sam Mendes is familiar with difficult, large-scale productions. He directed the 2019 film “1917,” shot to look like one continuous take as it told the story of a British soldier in World War I trying to cross enemy lines to deliver a message. He also directed recent James Bond films such as “Spectre” and “Skyfall.”
“I’m honored to be telling the story of the greatest rock band of all time, and excited to challenge what constitutes a trip to the movies,” Mendes said, according to reporting from ABC News in February. Ringo Starr has also confirmed his support for the film, with an Instagram post he captioned expressing his love for the project.
There are still lots of unanswered questions, such as if the films will be released individually or separately, if there will be a specific order to watch them in and, possibly most important, if the living Beatles will make an appearance. But the film has the support of the living members of the band with an experienced director who seems to know the pressure this project requires. Fans old and new are about to get an innovative look inside a band that has captured the hearts of many generations.
Photo credit: “Sam Mendes in 2022” by Frankie Fouganthin is licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.
