MOVIE NEWS – The role of Paul Mescal in Sony’s Beatles films confirmed by… Ridley Scott?!

The interesting thing about director Sam Mendes’ planned Beatles biopics is that this rumoured casting has not been officially confirmed by either Sony Pictures or Mendes himself. First, Ringo Starr leaked that Barry Keoghan was also in the film, which was not officially confirmed. Now, director Ridley Scott has joined the conversation. The director is interested in working with Paul Mescal again after the success of Gladiator II, but Scott says those plans will have to wait because Mescal could play one of the “Fab Four”.

Scott spoke to fellow filmmaker Christopher Nolan via The Hollywood Reporter after Gladiator II was screened at the Directors Guild of America in Los Angeles. At the time, the Alien director was talking about his possible next project, The Dog Stars. After Nolan asked if Mescal had joined the thriller, Scott confirmed that he would indeed be in the project, but he quickly corrected himself and spoke about Mescal’s upcoming schedule, which could prevent that. At that point, Scott threw in a Ringo Starr and also revealed that Mescal is the lead in Mendes’ Beatles project. The director said, “Yes. Maybe. Paul is actually stacked up, doing the Beatles next. So I may have to let him go.”

The cast has not yet been confirmed, but Mescal is rumoured to be playing Paul McCartney in the ambitious four-part biopic about the revolutionary band.

Mendes plans to make four films, each of which will be released in theatres and will focus on a different member of the band, which also includes Starr, John Lennon, and George Harrison. The other two actors rumoured to be in the film are Joseph Quinn, who recently co-starred in Gladiator II with Mescal, and Harris Dickinson, who is currently starring opposite Nicole Kidman in Babygirl.

The Beatles biopics were announced in February, and the director will also produce. Sony Pictures is planning to release the films in 2027. The filmmakers are working with the full cooperation of the band’s surviving members, McCartney and Starr, as well as the families of Lennon and Harrison. Mendes has access to the entire biography and music rights for the film, so he has everything he needs to get the most authentic look at the band.

Mendes’ approach to the four-part film is undoubtedly ambitious and a welcome departure from the more traditional music biopics audiences are used to. He plans to tell interconnected stories while giving each band member their due weight, without leaving anyone out of the story. If we were to bet on the casting, it seems like at least two names (Mescal and Keoghan) are involved, but they can’t say anything yet. Quinn and Dickinson are also easily considered for the project. However, no one has yet revealed whether they are officially involved.

Source: THR