See first look at actors as The Beatles from upcoming Sam Mendes biopics

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See first look at actors as The Beatles from upcoming Sam Mendes biopics

LIPA has hidden postcards around the building for students to find

The first look at The Beatles in Sam Mendes’ upcoming biopics has been revealed in a series of postcards in Liverpool. Check out the posts below.

The four-film series about the Fab Four is currently scheduled for a simultaneous release in April 2028. Paul Mescal stars as Paul McCartney alongside Harris Dickinson (John Lennon), Joseph Quinn (George Harrison) and Barry Keoghan (Ringo Starr).

  • READ MORE: The Beatles: every song ranked in order of greatness
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Mescal recently confirmed that production for the forthcoming project was still ongoing. “We’re a while away from finishing,” he told Variety. “That’s my job for all of 2026.”

Barry Keoghan as Ringo Starr in Sam Mendes' upcoming Beatles biopics. Credit: Sony Pictures
Barry Keoghan as Ringo Starr in Sam Mendes’ upcoming Beatles biopics. Credit: Sony Pictures/Lloyd Wakefield

Paul Mescal is Paul McCartney in Sam Mendes' upcoming Beatles biopics. Credit: Sony Pictures/Chiabella James
Paul Mescal is Paul McCartney in Sam Mendes’ upcoming Beatles biopics. Credit: Sony Pictures/Chiabella James

Joseph Quinn is George Harrison in Sam Mendes' upcoming Beatles biopics. Credit: Sony Pictures/Greig Fraser
Joseph Quinn is George Harrison in Sam Mendes’ upcoming Beatles biopics. Credit: Sony Pictures/Greig Fraser

Harris Dickinson is John Lennon in Sam Mendes' upcoming Beatles biopics. Credit: Sony Pictures/Chiabella James
Harris Dickinson is John Lennon in Sam Mendes’ upcoming Beatles biopics. Credit: Sony Pictures/Chiabella James

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Keoghan has since revealed his new ’60s-inspired bob haircut, seemingly in preparation for his role of Starr.

Now, official postcards showing the actors in their respective parts have been dotted around the Liverpool Institute For Performing Arts (LIPA) – which was co-founded by McCartney in 1996.

“We’ve been given exclusive postcards promoting the new Beatles movies! 👀,” LIPA wrote in a post, which shows a still of Mescal as Macca.

LIPA added: “We’ve hidden them around LIPA, and we want students to find them. If you spot one tag @lipaliverpool & @sonypicturesuk 📸.”

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The text on the first postcard reads: “Paul Mescal is Paul McCartney.”

Photographs of the remaining three promo cards subsequently appeared online, before LIPA shared another official post today (Friday January 30). Check them out here:

View this post on Instagram
View this post on Instagram
View this post on Instagram

Each film of Mendes’ series about The Beatles will be told from the perspective of one band member. They will also be the first-ever movies to be granted music rights to the Beatles’ discography.

The likes of David Morrissey, Leanne Best, Bobby Schofield and James Norton joined the cast at the end of last year. Other actors set to star in the films include Saoirse Ronan, Anna Sawai, Aimee Lou Wood and Mia McKenna-Bruce, who are playing Linda McCartney, Yoko Ono, Pattie Boyd and Maureen Starkey, respectively.

Earlier this month, Mescal said fans would “benefit from knowing as little as possible” about the biopics before watching them. The actor explained that he and his co-stars were “pinching ourselves” over being involved in the films.

“I think the endeavour is totally singular,” he added. “On a personal level, I’m so thrilled to be working on something at this scale, but also rooted in performance with Sam and great writers.”

The Beatles' cast: Harris Dickinson, Paul Mescal, Barry Keoghan and Joseph Quinn
The Beatles cast: Harris Dickinson, Paul Mescal, Barry Keoghan and Joseph Quinn. CREDIT: Sony

Mescal went on: “But also just to be living and working in London and to have some sort of stability in what has been like a kind of mad six, seven years since Normal People came out.”

He previously revealed that he’d be doing his own singing for the role and had spent time with McCartney to prepare.

The Irish actor has had a busy few years since breaking out with the success of Normal People in 2020, starring in a string of films, including Aftersun and All Of Us Strangers, and taking on the lead part in Gladiator II.

Mescal’s two latest big-screen projects are indie romance The History Of Sound and Chloé Zhao’s Oscar-nominated Hamnet. The latter recently won Best Drama Film at the Golden Globes 2026, and Mescal is up for Supporting Actor for the role at this year’s BAFTAs.

  • READ MORE: The NME Big Read – Paul McCartney: “The Beatles were brothers arguing, that’s what families do”

He is currently working on Richard Linklater’s adaptation of the musical Merrily We Roll Along.

Speaking to NME last November, Giles Martin – son of legendary Beatles producer George Martin –  discussed his work on Mendes’ hotly anticipated films. “I’m working with the actors and they’re doing a really good job, that’s all I can say,” he told us.

“The scripts are really good and brave, as opposed to being anodyne. I’m on day two of shooting right now. They’re all really good actors so I wouldn’t advise them, but I give them nuances and share things I’ve heard.”

Mescal recently explained that he intended to “ration” his work ahead of the release of the Beatles biopics in 2028. “People will get a break from me and I’ll get a break from them,” he said.

The Beatles, 1965. Credit: Press/Apple Corps
The Beatles, 1965. Credit: Press/Apple Corps

Mia McKenna-Bruce admitted that she wasn’t a fan of the band before being cast in the movie. “We sang ‘Eleanor Rigby’ and ‘Yellow Submarine’ at school, but it wasn’t my jam,” she revealed.

The real-life Ringo Starr said last summer that he offered “extensive notes” on the script, telling The New York Times: “[Mendes] had a writer – very good writer, great reputation, and he wrote it great, but it had nothing to do with Maureen and I. That’s not how we were. I’d say, ‘We would never do that’.”

In other news, Paul McCartney‘s new Wings documentary Man On The Run is due to be screened in cinemas for one night only next month.

  • Related Topics
  • George Harrison
  • John Lennon
  • Paul McCartney
  • Ringo Starr
  • Rock
  • The Beatles

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The first look at The Beatles in Sam Mendes’ upcoming biopics has been revealed in a series of postcards in Liverpool. Check out the posts below.

The four-film series about the Fab Four is currently scheduled for a simultaneous release in April 2028. Paul Mescal stars as Paul McCartney alongside Harris Dickinson (John Lennon), Joseph Quinn (George Harrison) and Barry Keoghan (Ringo Starr).

  • READ MORE: The Beatles: every song ranked in order of greatness
Advertisement

Mescal recently confirmed that production for the forthcoming project was still ongoing. “We’re a while away from finishing,” he told Variety. “That’s my job for all of 2026.”

Barry Keoghan as Ringo Starr in Sam Mendes' upcoming Beatles biopics. Credit: Sony Pictures
Barry Keoghan as Ringo Starr in Sam Mendes’ upcoming Beatles biopics. Credit: Sony Pictures/Lloyd Wakefield

Paul Mescal is Paul McCartney in Sam Mendes' upcoming Beatles biopics. Credit: Sony Pictures/Chiabella James
Paul Mescal is Paul McCartney in Sam Mendes’ upcoming Beatles biopics. Credit: Sony Pictures/Chiabella James

Joseph Quinn is George Harrison in Sam Mendes' upcoming Beatles biopics. Credit: Sony Pictures/Greig Fraser
Joseph Quinn is George Harrison in Sam Mendes’ upcoming Beatles biopics. Credit: Sony Pictures/Greig Fraser

Harris Dickinson is John Lennon in Sam Mendes' upcoming Beatles biopics. Credit: Sony Pictures/Chiabella James
Harris Dickinson is John Lennon in Sam Mendes’ upcoming Beatles biopics. Credit: Sony Pictures/Chiabella James

Recommended

Keoghan has since revealed his new ’60s-inspired bob haircut, seemingly in preparation for his role of Starr.

Now, official postcards showing the actors in their respective parts have been dotted around the Liverpool Institute For Performing Arts (LIPA) – which was co-founded by McCartney in 1996.

“We’ve been given exclusive postcards promoting the new Beatles movies! 👀,” LIPA wrote in a post, which shows a still of Mescal as Macca.

LIPA added: “We’ve hidden them around LIPA, and we want students to find them. If you spot one tag @lipaliverpool & @sonypicturesuk 📸.”

Advertisement

The text on the first postcard reads: “Paul Mescal is Paul McCartney.”

Photographs of the remaining three promo cards subsequently appeared online, before LIPA shared another official post today (Friday January 30). Check them out here:

View this post on Instagram
View this post on Instagram
View this post on Instagram

Each film of Mendes’ series about The Beatles will be told from the perspective of one band member. They will also be the first-ever movies to be granted music rights to the Beatles’ discography.

The likes of David Morrissey, Leanne Best, Bobby Schofield and James Norton joined the cast at the end of last year. Other actors set to star in the films include Saoirse Ronan, Anna Sawai, Aimee Lou Wood and Mia McKenna-Bruce, who are playing Linda McCartney, Yoko Ono, Pattie Boyd and Maureen Starkey, respectively.

Earlier this month, Mescal said fans would “benefit from knowing as little as possible” about the biopics before watching them. The actor explained that he and his co-stars were “pinching ourselves” over being involved in the films.

“I think the endeavour is totally singular,” he added. “On a personal level, I’m so thrilled to be working on something at this scale, but also rooted in performance with Sam and great writers.”

The Beatles' cast: Harris Dickinson, Paul Mescal, Barry Keoghan and Joseph Quinn
The Beatles cast: Harris Dickinson, Paul Mescal, Barry Keoghan and Joseph Quinn. CREDIT: Sony

Mescal went on: “But also just to be living and working in London and to have some sort of stability in what has been like a kind of mad six, seven years since Normal People came out.”

He previously revealed that he’d be doing his own singing for the role and had spent time with McCartney to prepare.

The Irish actor has had a busy few years since breaking out with the success of Normal People in 2020, starring in a string of films, including Aftersun and All Of Us Strangers, and taking on the lead part in Gladiator II.

Mescal’s two latest big-screen projects are indie romance The History Of Sound and Chloé Zhao’s Oscar-nominated Hamnet. The latter recently won Best Drama Film at the Golden Globes 2026, and Mescal is up for Supporting Actor for the role at this year’s BAFTAs.

  • READ MORE: The NME Big Read – Paul McCartney: “The Beatles were brothers arguing, that’s what families do”

He is currently working on Richard Linklater’s adaptation of the musical Merrily We Roll Along.

Speaking to NME last November, Giles Martin – son of legendary Beatles producer George Martin –  discussed his work on Mendes’ hotly anticipated films. “I’m working with the actors and they’re doing a really good job, that’s all I can say,” he told us.

“The scripts are really good and brave, as opposed to being anodyne. I’m on day two of shooting right now. They’re all really good actors so I wouldn’t advise them, but I give them nuances and share things I’ve heard.”

Mescal recently explained that he intended to “ration” his work ahead of the release of the Beatles biopics in 2028. “People will get a break from me and I’ll get a break from them,” he said.

The Beatles, 1965. Credit: Press/Apple Corps
The Beatles, 1965. Credit: Press/Apple Corps

Mia McKenna-Bruce admitted that she wasn’t a fan of the band before being cast in the movie. “We sang ‘Eleanor Rigby’ and ‘Yellow Submarine’ at school, but it wasn’t my jam,” she revealed.

The real-life Ringo Starr said last summer that he offered “extensive notes” on the script, telling The New York Times: “[Mendes] had a writer – very good writer, great reputation, and he wrote it great, but it had nothing to do with Maureen and I. That’s not how we were. I’d say, ‘We would never do that’.”

In other news, Paul McCartney‘s new Wings documentary Man On The Run is due to be screened in cinemas for one night only next month.

The likes of David Morrissey, Leanne Best, Bobby Schofield and James Norton joined the cast at the end of last year. Other actors set to star in the films include Saoirse Ronan, Anna Sawai, Aimee Lou Wood and Mia McKenna-Bruce, who are playing Linda McCartney, Yoko Ono, Pattie Boyd and Maureen Starkey, respectively.

Source URL: https://www.nme.com/news/music/see-first-look-at-actors-as-the-beatles-from-upcoming-sam-mendes-biopics-3926400


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