Paul Mescal spotted filming Beatles movie at Abbey Road
Paul Mescal and Barry Keoghan were spotted this weekend filming Sam Mendes' four-part Beatles movie at Abbey Road in London, recreating the zebra-crossing album cover with Harris Dickinson and Joseph Quinn. The Sony Pictures project, due in April 2028, is the first theatrical Beatles biopic with official life rights and music approval. Paparazzi stills of the shoot have already divided fans, as often happens in celebrity breaking news.
Key Takeaways
- Paul Mescal (Paul McCartney) and Barry Keoghan (Ringo Starr) filmed the Abbey Road cover walk with Harris Dickinson and Joseph Quinn.
- Sam Mendes is directing four Sony Pictures films, each from one Beatle's point of view, for April 2028.
- McCartney, Starr and the Lennon and Harrison estates approved life rights and music for a theatrical feature.
- Sunday social video showed the cast on the zebra crossing; distant paparazzi photos sparked online mockery of wigs and makeup.
Why were Paul Mescal and Barry Keoghan at Abbey Road?
It would not be a Beatles movie without Abbey Road, Variety noted. Social video showed Harris Dickinson, Paul Mescal, Joseph Quinn and Barry Keoghan recreating the iconic cover for Mendes' series, titled "The Beatles – A Four-Film Cinematic Event."
The Guardian said footage posted on Sunday showed the actors lining up on the kerb and walking across the road near the studio. Dickinson, as John Lennon, led, followed by Keoghan as Ringo Starr, Mescal as Paul McCartney and Quinn as George Harrison.
The real cover was shot on 8 August 1969 by Iain Macmillan from a stepladder in the road. The Beatles recorded Abbey Road mostly that summer after dropping a Nepal photo idea; the working title was Everest, after a cigarette brand smoked by engineer Geoff Emerick.
Who else is in Sam Mendes' Beatles films?
Mescal stars as Paul McCartney, Quinn as George Harrison, Keoghan as Ringo Starr and Dickinson as John Lennon. Mendes announced the four films in February 2024 with Sony backing and permission from McCartney and Starr plus the Lennon and Harrison estates.
Variety's supporting cast includes Saoirse Ronan as Linda McCartney, James Norton as Brian Epstein, Anna Sawai as Yoko Ono, Aimee Lou Wood as Pattie Boyd and Harry Lloyd as George Martin. The Guardian also names Lucy Boynton as Jane Asher. The logline reads: "Each man has his own story, but together they are legendary."
At CinemaCon 2025, Mendes, who directs all four parts, called it the "first binge-able theatrical experience." Sony Pictures chief Tom Rothman said principal photography for the four films will take a year.
When do the Beatles movies come out?
Each film is from a different member's perspective. All four are due in April 2028 from Sony Pictures. Variety reports it is unknown whether they will be released all at once or once a week that month. CinemaBlend, via Yahoo, says filming has already run for a few months and is expected to continue for quite a few more.
Why are fans reacting to the paparazzi photos?
Photos of the Abbey Road sequence spread online, and some responses were harsh. CinemaBlend quoted Reddit users calling the looks "ridiculous," like an SNL skit, and criticizing wigs and Lennon's beard.
Hugh Scott argued the pictures were likely shot from far outside the set with a long lens. He pointed to cinematographer Greig Fraser (Dune, Project Hail Mary) and hair-and-makeup designer Naomi Donne, a three-time Oscar nominee (1917, Cruella, The Batman), as reasons to wait for the finished films. The actors were costumed as on the original day: Lennon in white, Starr in black, McCartney in grey and barefoot, Harrison in denim.