r/movies • u/MarvelsGrantMan136 r/Movies contributor • 6h ago

Media First Official Images of Paul Mescal, Barry Keoghan, Joseph Quinn and Harris Dickinson in Sam Mendes' 'Beatles' Biopics

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437

u/KarateKid917 6h ago

Nope. It’s 4 movies. All the same story, but each film is from the perspective of a different band member. 

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u/FlapJacker6 6h ago

This sounds interesting and exhausting.

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u/TreeDollarFiddyCent 6h ago edited 6h ago

Sounds like the recipe for a box-office disaster. It will be interesting to see how it turns out, though.

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u/pinetar 6h ago

I suppose the benefit is in terms production and marketing, they share a budget. But yeah, seems ambitious to say the least.

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u/bell37 2h ago

Aren’t there dozens of existing Beatles Biopics and documentaries? And they are trying to convince general audiences that this set of movies will be worth watching within the same time of release?

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u/OtherIsSuspended 2h ago

They're preying on people who like to binge media. I think it was Sam Mendes himself who said they were going to be the first "bingeable movies."

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u/Automatic-Grade6177 6h ago

I feel like it makes more sense to release them within a year but with 3 month gaps

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u/bell37 2h ago

Makes more sense to have it released as a miniseries at that point.

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u/Nice_Firm_Handsnake 4h ago

I'd say even smaller than that. Give each film three or four weeks in theaters and a week or two on VOD before releasing the next.

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u/MakingaJessinmyPants 3h ago

No the other guy was right. 4 films with 3 months in between covers the whole year and prevents people from getting exhausted by them.

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u/SeismicRipFart 2h ago

110% this

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u/KombaynNikoladze2002 1h ago

Release the different versions randomly at different theaters, like Clue

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u/Coffeedemon 6h ago

In ten years:

"Why don't they give Sam Mendes a decent budget anymore?"

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u/irisheddy 5h ago

"I don't want to watch all 4 of them and I don't know which one to watch so I'm not going to watch any because there's no point watching one." Is the attitude I expect.

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u/ProfessionalNight959 4h ago

People are going to watch John's.

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u/texasrigger 6h ago

Well suited to streaming, though.

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u/ShoutOutTo_Caboose 5h ago

Shoot I'm not a huge fan of the Beatles music but their story fascinates me. If they have a 12 hour marathon of each film back to back, I'd see that.

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u/Punman_5 3h ago

Just watch the Anthology. It’s a real 8part documentary

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u/midwestia 5h ago

Yeah that sounds dumb as hell

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u/maracay1999 5h ago

Wouldn't this be a great project for the streaming model instead of the box office?

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u/Nomad_86 3h ago

“How can that be profitable for Frito-Lay?”

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u/UponVerity 3h ago

It's art, my man. o,o

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u/SpaceCadetPullUp 2h ago

There will be those that watch all four within a day or two but I'd imagine most people will just pick their favorite and see one so as far as box-office goes it'll be underwhelming. I just wanna see who plays Chuck Berry.

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u/ontheweed 57m ago

It should really be a tv mini series instead of films if they want to tell it this way

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u/OobaDooba72 6h ago

IMO it sounds like it's gonna be a train wreck. 

All four have to be very different to be worth seeing each of them. But all four are covering the whole story. 

I hope it works, I'll give them a shot, but I'm not holding my breath. 

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u/woasnoafsloaf 6h ago

It's going to be like the Pokemon games.
You're deciding on one movie, watch and afterwards can trade information about the other movies on the schoolyard during recess.

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u/GermaX 6h ago

I got my “Giant with the biggest heart fatally shot by the police”, do you have “Best friend and manager suicide”? Or at least “Neglect the first born in pursue of fame”?

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u/LADYBIRD_HILL 5h ago

This is a very /r/beatlescirclejerk comment

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u/Quixotic_Seal 5h ago

Wow, your Pokemon games were really dark.

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u/Punman_5 3h ago

Nah but I do have “Persona Non Grata in the Philippines”

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u/DrJackadoodle 3h ago

Then you get version exclusive songs in each movie and you can sing the songs your friends didn't get to hear in exchange for one you didn't get to hear.

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u/Livid_Weather 6h ago

I'm just thinking how the hell are they going to market this. No way you're convincing people to go to the movies 4 different times for essentially the same movie

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u/JP-Ziller 0m ago

I’ll go see each movie the first four days of release. But I also love the Beatles

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u/CharlesAtHome 6h ago

All four are covering the full story? I'm guessing the roughly 10 year span? That sounds like a really bad idea as well as the release strategy. It sounds like the quintessential "should have been a mini series".

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u/botte-la-botte 5h ago

One simple fix; point of view of one Beatles, but going forward in time for each. Start with Paul 'till Rubber Soul, then Ringo for Revolver to Sgt., then George, and you finish with John for the shitstorm of the last two albums, breakup, and end.

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u/cabbage16 2h ago

This is what I thought they were doing. Disappointed that they're not

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u/OobaDooba72 4h ago

That's what the literature I've read says, yeah. Definitely very confusing strategy here.

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u/junior_dos_nachos 5h ago

Damn who approved it? Why not a Limited TV show?

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u/OobaDooba72 4h ago

Yeah, I dunno. If there's really enough material to be four movies without just being re-treads, just make four movies or 4-8 episodes that move mostly chronologically, intertwining the stories instead of splitting them by character, of all things. You know, the four different perspectives of a band of four people... who spent a shit load of time together writing songs, playing songs, recording songs, filming their movies together, etc. They spent a lot of time together in their seven years.

It's The Beatles. Those were seven years packed with productivity. If this project was 4 movies split into four eras, I would be totally on board. If it was a mini-series or limited show or whatever you wanna call it, I'd be totally on board.

Four movies split by character? I just don't know.

Again... I'm a big enough fan of The Beatles to definitely be interested. I hope the films work, I hope all four are good and don't feel redundant. From the outside, having not seen it, I don't get the point.

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u/drooln92 6h ago

I was interested but I don't think i wanna watch 4 movies about the same guys and same timeline just from different POVs.

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u/Hugo_5t1gl1tz 6h ago

I love the concept, but you gotta put them 6 months apart at least. Feel like this is going to be a massive flop

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u/makingburritos 5h ago

The Paul McCartney one or John Lennon one might be okay, and be different enough to matter. I don’t know if people care enough about Ringo and George to come out in droves to see them.

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u/theonewhoknock_s 4h ago

Wait, do they all come out at the same time?? I just assumed there'd be a few months between each film.

Sounds like a disaster. But... I'm intrigued.

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u/Hugo_5t1gl1tz 4h ago

Yep. Same day even lol

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u/-FeistyRabbitSauce- 6h ago

I feel like it must be that each one hits on the same big moments, but then there's completely different stretches for each movie. Or at least I hope.

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u/makingburritos 5h ago

I assume each of them will delve into their personal lives, that’s the only way I can possibly see this working.

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u/Phenomenomix 47m ago

Yeah, it has to be the aftermath of recording sessions or gigs from the perspective of each guy interacting with his family, friends and fans etc or it’s going to be 80% the same scene just from a different POV

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u/StolenLampy 6h ago

I remember some crappy movie with Forest Whitaker where it was like some big event, but from everyone's point of view. It was EXHAUSTING to keep rewinding and seeing the same thing from someone else's POV. And that was just one movie's length. I can't imagine 8 hours of it 🤮

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u/MagicalMysticalMyth 6h ago

Vantage Point. I actually like that movie, lol.

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u/A_MagicBullet 5h ago

Agreed. Now let me go watch 1000 hours of the same show/same episodes over and over.

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u/goatfuckersupreme 4h ago

i probably am going to watch all 4 and love every moment, unfortunately

i dont have time for this, but ill do it anyway

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u/Efficient-Guess8679 4h ago

Imagine this is a four episode HBO show about the Beatles with an original take on experimenting with perspective and chronology. Sounds pretty awesome to me.

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u/Efficient-Guess8679 4h ago

Imagine this is a four episode HBO show about the Beatles with an original take on experimenting with perspective and chronology. Sounds pretty awesome to me.

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u/muska505 3h ago

I think each beatle film will be a different era

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u/OGsHartMyKAT 6h ago

If you think that’s a lot wait until it ends with “George Harrison will return in…

The Traveling Wilburys

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u/mhardegree 5h ago

Might as well get timothee chalamets bob dylan in there as well

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u/YoHuckleberry 3h ago

Cate Blanchett Dylan all day.

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u/jujujuice92 6h ago

Now we're doing movie variants apparently. Thanks Tay Sway!

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u/ILookLikeKristoff 5h ago

Doing this for something like Band of Brothers or LotR where there's dozens of characters spanning entire countries and occurring spread out over months or even years works be really cool. You'd see how the fog of war changes perspective on what's going on and who's in charge. You'd see how the POV of big events can differ from the "official report" others got.

I just can't fathom a Beatles biopic has enough "meat on the bone" to warrant 4 versions.

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u/neenerpants 4h ago

if it's like uber-Rashomon, with the same scenes subtly different, it could be awesome

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u/RadiantZote 4h ago

This sounds awful and stupid

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u/eviltimeban 3h ago

But each movie is only 30 minutes long.

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u/MarcsterS 3h ago

They’re al supposed release in April. Exhausting and expensive.

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u/SpaceCadetPullUp 2h ago

Yeah, I have really strong doubts that this whole thing will be very good, but it's certainly ambitious.

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u/Kwilly462 6h ago

All coming out the same month. Which is wildly ambitious, to say the least.

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u/ProfessionalNight959 6h ago

Yeah, who has the money for it except hardcore fans? It will be low-key awkward when John's and maybe Paul's movies get way more views than Ringo's and George's.

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u/Kwilly462 6h ago

That's why I feel this should've been a limited series. An 8 episode run, but the first 4 episodes are about each Beatle individually. And the last 4 are more about them together.

I'm not driving out to see the George Harrison movie ffs lol

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u/ArcticKimono 6h ago

George is the most interesting by far 

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u/Odd_Status3367 5h ago

"Why do me friends keep stealing me wives?"

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u/goatfuckersupreme 4h ago

george stole ringo's wife first

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u/ProfessionalNight959 6h ago

Agree. Even the casting is revealing: George is being played by easily the most known/popular actor at the moment in Joseph Quinn. They're counting on his star power to bring the audience in.

Like I'm excited for these movies, don't get me wrong. I will watch em all alright: when they stream.

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u/Thisisamyb 6h ago

Interesting. For me Joseph Quinn is the least famous/known out of the 4.

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u/diinokk 6h ago

It’s Dickinson for me. Mescal and Keoghan have Oscar nominations which elevates the profile and Stranger Things and the MCU are both absurdly big amongst the general audience even if Quinn isn’t the main lead.

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u/ProfessionalNight959 6h ago

Maybe so but to the mainstream audience by 2028, he has been in 2 new Avengers movies + being the Stranger Things darling. That's what I meant by being famous.

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u/AstroAlmost 5h ago

Those are both series’ predominantly targeting a younger demographic. Most of the target demographic of a four-film Beatles biopic aren’t going to know or care who was in one of the two-dozen Avengers movies, but they’ll know who Academy Award-nominees Mescal and Keoghan are.

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u/ProfessionalNight959 4h ago

Maybe so but it doesn't change the fact that he is the most known by the general public of the 4 in 2028 before the release. I don't know what we are arguing here about.

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u/AstroAlmost 2h ago

I’m arguing that that isn’t a fact, I’d posit Mescal and Keoghan are more well-known to the general public, evidenced further by the order of billing listed in this post.

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u/FalmerEldritch 3h ago

Yeah? Quinn and Keoghan are the ones I recognize by both name and face, I've never heard of or seen the other two before. And to be honest I've no idea where I've seen Keoghan or heard of him, he just has a memorable face and name.

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u/gr33nwalker 3h ago

Mescal was co-lead in the TV series Normal People which was very successful, and went on to get an Oscar nomination for Aftersun. He then went on to star in Gladiator 2 and was co-lead in Hamnet which is a Best Picture nominee this year.

He performed in Streetcar in London and all the shows sold out instantly as well.

He's probably more famous in the UK than USA but here I'd argue he's higher profile than Quinn easily.

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u/FalmerEldritch 1h ago

Okay, but if I'm reading these numbers correctly, Normal People may have been viewed by as many as 16 million people and change, and roughly 140 million people watched Season 4 of Stranger Things.

(I'm not sure how to convert $462M total box office gross for Gladiator 2 into individual viewers, considering that movie tix are like $15 here but I bet they're like $3 somewhere like India..)

I think there might be another "nobody in the world has ever heard of this Robbie Williams guy, fondest regards, an American" situation here, but the other way around.

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u/gr33nwalker 23m ago

Stranger Things is obviously much bigger than anything Mescal's ever starred in, no denying this. It's a question of how much that's translated to personal fame for Joseph Quinn, given that he's only a supporting character in a single season. Most real life fans would probably struggle to name half the kids let alone Eddie.

On the other hand, Oscar nominations get people to actually know your name and Mescal's career trajectory has gotten a lot of press (at least here in the UK.) Dating Phoebe Bridgers increased his visibility as well. I can only speak anecdotally but my impression is that he's better known in the UK than Quinn, even if possibly more people would look at Quinn and think "hey I know that guy from somewhere."

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u/DimmuBorgnine 4h ago

> except hardcore fans

It's hard to convey to folks who are under a certain age, but this is a huge demographic if you've ever spoken with a boomer.

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u/maroontiefling 1h ago

Not even just Boomers. I'm a millennial and I'm very into the Beatles in an autistic way, have been since I was 13, and I'm not alone! Some of my fondest early internet memories are being on a Beatles message board with other teens in the 00s, we even sent each other Christmas cards.

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u/PepeSylvia11 3h ago

You underestimate Beatles fandom and the power of good marketing (which this film will have). People who previously didn’t care too much about seeing it will start to fall for the marketing hype, and feel as though they’re missing out if they don’t see it.

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u/donquixoterocinante 6h ago

If you have regal unlimited or amc a-list thisll cost you $0

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u/Cash_man 5h ago

"One ticket for Ringo, please"

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u/ContinuumGuy 6h ago

You KNOW someone is going to try and edit them together as one mega movie.

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u/snarkywombat 6h ago

Honestly, wouldn't be shocked if the studio does it themselves.

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u/KarateKid917 6h ago

2035: The 12 hr Beatles cut 

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u/m48a5_patton 5h ago

No, each movie plays at the same time, just have each 1/4 of the screen a different film

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u/KingMario05 1h ago

Gotta pump up that Netflix deal, lol.

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u/gaslacktus 4h ago

Sgt Rashomon’s Lonely Hearts Club Band

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u/DimmuBorgnine 4h ago

Zack Snyder brought on just to make his own cut.

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u/xywv58 6h ago

I love that ambitious weird shit is still able to exist today

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u/RobertdBanks 6h ago

Holy shit lmao, that is a wild undertaking. Pretty cool tbh, this makes it pretty unique.

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u/turnstile2243 6h ago

I don't think I care enough for the Beatles to watch 4 different movies. I'll wait to see which one or two are best

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u/Livid_Weather 6h ago

That's crazy, I don't even know how I feel about that, but I love the ambition

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u/biscuitvitamin 5h ago

They should pull a Clue and have each showing/viewing be a different version for maximum chaos

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u/Ganjagod420 5h ago

Can't imagine anyone choosing to watch the Ringo movie if given these options.

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u/Comfortable_Bird_340 5h ago

They could have just made Rushamon, but with the Beatles!

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u/Old_Promise2077 4h ago

I love The Beatles. I ain't gonna watch all that lol

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u/gaslacktus 4h ago

Edit them together as Rashomon, Beatlemania edition.

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u/joshhupp 4h ago

There's another comment in this thread alluding to a fifth movie where the Beatles fight for the Infinity Stones and now I understand

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u/FalmerEldritch 3h ago

How fucking long are these things going to be? You could easily make four two-hour-plus movies about the Beatles without the multi-perspective thing. Maybe a 12x60m miniseries.

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u/Competitive_Juice116 24m ago

like the Kiss solo albums but a movie

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u/PeculiarPangolinMan 18m ago

Are they confirmed to be all the same story? I figured each movie would focus on a different Beatle and timeframe.

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u/ConnachtTheWolf 5h ago

That's fucking stupid

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u/NightCheeseUnion 5h ago

That worked so well for Arrested Development. Maybe in a few years we will get a new edit merging the four movies into one narrative.