Ringo has been making suggestions for forthcoming films about The BeatlesDan Haygarth Liverpool Daily Post Editor and Regeneration Reporter
20:00, 05 Jul 2025
Beatles drummer Ringo Starr pictured in 2021(Image: Chris Pizzello/Invision/AP)
Ringo Starr revealed he asked for script changes in Sam Mendes’ forthcoming films about The Beatles. The acclaimed director, known for ‘Skyfall’, ‘American Beauty’ and ‘1917’, will work on four films about the band, set for release in April 2028.
Each film will focus on one of The Beatles – Paul McCartney, George Harrison, John Lennon and Ringo. The cast was confirmed at the CinemaCon convention in Las Vegas in April – Irish actors Paul Mescal and Barry Keoghan will play Paul and Ringo respectively. London-born Harris Dickinson will play John, while Joseph Quinn, also from the capital, will play George.
Ringo has previously shared his approval of Barry’s casting. The Dublin-born actor has had a previous attempt at the Merseyside accent in ‘Saltburn’ – to mixed results – but the Dingle-born drummer is happy with Mendes’ choice.
Asked about the possibility of Barry playing him, when it was just a rumour, Ringo said: “I think it’s great. I believe he’s somewhere taking drum lessons, and I hope not too many.”
A new interview with him has also shed more light on his view of the films. They were discussed in a New York Times profile of Ringo, published on July 2, to mark his forthcoming 85th birthday on July 7.
Paul Mescal, Joseph Quinn, Barry Keoghan and Harris Dickinson are introduced onstage to promote four upcoming biopics about The Beatles(Image: Ethan Miller/Getty Image)
The American newspaper revealed that Ringo sat with Mendes for two days to go over the script of the film about him.
Like all four movies, it has been written by screenwriters Jez Butterworth, Peter Straughan and Jack Thorne, but Ringo had some suggestions for them to make it more authentic and to reflect the reality of his life with his first wife Maureen Starkey Tigret.
He told the NYT: “He had a writer – very good writer, great reputation, and he wrote it great, but it had nothing to do with Maureen and I. That’s not how we were. I’d say, ‘We would never do that’.”
Ringo also wished Mendes the best of luck with the films’ production. The NYT reported that he was now happy with his depiction, though unsure how all four films would be made at the same time.
He added: “But he’ll do what he’s doing. And I’ll send him peace and love.”
The NYT profile saw Ringo speak at length with the newspaper about his Dingle upbringing and his career, while Paul McCartney was also interviewed about his former Beatles colleague.
Paul explained that being the two surviving Beatles – John and George died in 1980 and 2001 respectively – has brought him and Ringo closer together.
He explained: “With John and George not here, I think we realise nothing lasts forever. So we grasp onto what we have now because we realise that it’s very special.
“It’s something hardly anyone else has. In fact, in our case, it’s something no one else has.
“There’s only me and Ringo, and we’re the only people who can share those memories.”