The Beatles' Biopics Producer Explains Why All Four Films Are Releasing at Once in 2028

Producer Pippa Harris has defended the release plan for Sam Mendes' The Beatles – A Four-Film Cinematic Event, in which all four movies reach cinemas together in April 2028 through Sony Pictures. Variety reports that she spoke at an industry talk at the BFI London Film Festival on Monday, after the strategy left some in the industry puzzled.

Harris said each film stands alone as the story of one of the four men, but that together they carry a cumulative power greater than the sum of their parts. She also indicated that audiences are not expected to watch all four on the same day. Mendes has previously described the plan as the first “bingeable” moment in cinema.

Deadline reports that Harris, speaking during a career Q&A at the festival, said the production was on day 180 of its shoot. The films star Paul Mescal as Paul McCartney, Harris Dickinson as John Lennon, Joseph Quinn as George Harrison and Barry Keoghan as Ringo Starr.

The project is a collaboration between Sony Pictures Entertainment and Mendes' Neal Street Productions, with Mendes, Harris, Julie Pastor and Alexandra Derbyshire producing in association with Apple Corps. It is the first time the band and Apple Corps have granted full life-story and music rights for scripted films. When the project was first announced in February 2024, the films were expected in 2027.