Plans for a four-part film franchise documenting the lives of each of The Beatles have sparked outrage amongst several fans of the iconic band.
Filmmaker Sam Mendes has boarded the project and announced each of the musicians - Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr, John Lennon and George Harrison - will have their individual story told in a series of movies after being granted permission by the former two and from the families of the latter half of the band.
Deadline announced the plans, with Mendes producing and directing the films alongside his Neal Steel Productions as well as his partner Pippa Harris.
However, some fans of the 1960s band have already taken to social media to strongly oppose the idea, demanding Mendes to “leave them alone”.
In response to a social media post from Discussing Film, fans were well and truly split as one fan penned: “Leave the Beatles alone!!! LEAVE THEM ALONE!!!”
“We will not be watching,” another reply read while a third fumed: “A better idea is 0 biopics from 0 of the band’s point of view.”
The films will tell the life stories of each of the musicians
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“You think it’s best to just leave it all alone? I mean, they’ve tried for many decades and only got one or two genuinely good ones out there. After Get Back, it’s hard to top something like that in regards to the Beatles, biopic or not,” someone else chimed.
“I say this as a lifelong beatlemaniac who knows how to play every song on guitar: bro i am not going to watch this lol,” a fifth argued as they threatened to boycott the films.
However, there were others who seemed to like the plans and expressed their excitement for the films.
“Only Sam Mendes can achieve such a marvelous feat,” one shared while another commented: “Really like the concept. Hope he can deliver.” (sic)
Sam Mendes will produce the movies
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While Lennon has been dead since 1980 and Harrison since 2001, the band continues to draw in new generations of fans.
Late last year, The Beatles were making headlines for their “new” single, Now and Then.
The song was the last to feature all four of the musicians, with new technology able to lift Lennon’s voice from a previous recording.
GB News’ Martin Daubney became emotional on air when the record was released in November 2023. He admitted: “I did say before the break there may be a tear stain on my lapel.
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Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr have granted their permission for the films, while Lennon and Harrison's families have given the green light on their behalf
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"I just listened to Now and Then, the last ever Beatles song. I think it's breathtaking, particularly Lennon's vocals because this demo has been on YouTube for over eight years and the vocals were very hard to ascertain.
"Peter Jackson's AI from the Beatles movie has almost brought John Lennon back to life. It's astonishing, it's almost like Lennon is there!"
He went on: "It's really moving. Paul McCartney's bassline is really technical, he's still got it. Ringo's drumline - this is all new, this is all recorded by the artists recently, about a year ago.
"Putting in George Harrison's guitar that he laid down himself before he passed away. The guitar solo is very, very emotional."