Sam Mendes’ four Beatles biopics have found writers.
Tony Award winner Jez Butterworth (“Ford v Ferrari,” “Spectre”), Academy Award winner Peter Straughan (“Conclave,” “Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy”) and BAFTA and Tony Award winner Jack Thorne (“Adolescence,” “Enola Holmes”) are set to write the screenplays for the four theatrical films from Sony Pictures and Neal Street Productions.
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The films mark the first time Apple Corps Ltd. and The Beatles – John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr – have granted full life story and music rights for a scripted film.
Mendes conceived and will direct the four films, each from a different band member’s point of view, intersecting to tell the story of the iconic group.
The films will star Harris Dickinson as John Lennon, Barry Keoghan as Ringo Starr, Paul Mescal as Paul McCartney and Joseph Quinn as George Harrison.
Sony Pictures will finance and distribute worldwide with full theatrical windows in April 2028.
“The Beatles—A Four-Film Cinematic Event” is a Neal Street production in association with Apple Corps for Sony Pictures.
Mendes is producing alongside his Neal Street Productions partner Pippa Harris and Neal Street’s Julie Pastor. Alexandra Derbyshire (“Wonka”) is also producing.
Butterworth’s recent screenwriting credits include James Mangold’s “Ford v Ferrari” and “Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny.” His other work includes “Spectre,” “Black Mass” and “Edge of Tomorrow.” Butterworth is also an award-winning playwright who wrote “The Ferryman,” for which he won the Tony for best play, and most recently, “The Hills of California,” which just received seven Tony nominations including for best play. Both plays were directed by Sam Mendes.
Straughan most recently won the Academy Award for his screenplay for Edward Berger’s thriller “Conclave,” starring Ralph Fiennes, John Lithgow, Stanley Tucci and Isabella Rossellini. He previously co-wrote “Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy” with his late wife, Bridget O’Connor. The screenplay earned them an Academy Award nomination and won the BAFTA for adapted screenplay. His other film credits include “Our Brand is Crisis” and “Frank.” For television, Straughan adapted Hilary Mantel’s bestselling novel “Wolf Hall,” which won the BAFTA for best drama series. He also wrote its sequel, “Wolf Hall: The Mirror and the Light.”
Thorne is a BAFTA and Tony Award-winning screenwriter and theatre writer. His recent hit series “Adolescence,” which he co-created, has garnered widespread acclaim. His film credits include “The Swimmers,” “Enola Holmes” and “Enola Holmes 2,” “The Aeronauts” and “Wonder.” His other TV credits include “Toxic Town,” “His Dark Materials,” “Help,” and “Best Interests.” On the theater side, Thorne wrote the Tony and Olivier Award-winning “Harry Potter and the Cursed Child,” and most recently “The Motive and the Cue,” directed by Sam Mendes.
Butterworth is repped by CAA and Alan Wertheimer at Jackoway Austen Tyerman. Straughan is repped by Casarotto Ramsay & Associates and CAA. Thorne is repped by UTA, Casarotto, Ramsay & Associates and Sloane, Offer, Weber & Dern.
The InSneider was first to report Thorne as a writer, while Deadline was first to reveal Butterworth and Straughan.
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