Director Sam Mendes’ ambitious Beatles project — four biopics, one for each member of the band — just added four major names to its already star-studded cast. Deadline confirmed this week that Shōgun’s Anna Sawai will play Yoko Ono, The White Lotus star Aimee Lou Wood will take on Pattie Boyd, and How to Have Sex breakout Mia McKenna-Bruce will portray Maureen “Mo” Starkey, Ringo Starr’s first wife. They join Saoirse Ronan, previously announced as Linda McCartney.
Each film, set for release in 2028 under the collective banner The Beatles — A Four-Film Cinematic Event, will tell the story of a different Beatle — John, Paul, George, and Ringo — from that member’s own perspective. Harris Dickinson stars as John Lennon, Paul Mescal as Paul McCartney, Joseph Quinn as George Harrison, and Barry Keoghan as Ringo Starr. Mendes has described the project as “a single story told four ways,” promising intersecting narratives that explore fame, friendship, creativity, and collapse.
“Maureen, Linda, Yoko, and Pattie are four fascinating and unique figures in their own right,” Mendes said in a statement. “I’m thrilled that we’ve managed to persuade four of the most talented women working in film today to join this amazing adventure.”
It’s a remarkable ensemble, not just for its prestige but for how well it captures the spirit of the women at the center of rock’s most mythologized era. Linda McCartney — an acclaimed photographer before she ever met Paul — brought a grounded artistry to her husband’s post-Beatles world. She and Paul married in 1969 and became creative collaborators in Wings, defining a new, more domestic vision of rock-and-roll partnership.
Yoko Ono, an avant-garde artist and musician, was vilified by fans and tabloids for her relationship with Lennon, but history has largely vindicated her influence — she pushed him toward more personal and political expression, turning their love story into a decades-long art project about peace and presence.
Pattie Boyd, a model and muse, inspired some of the most enduring love songs in rock history — from Harrison’s “Something” to Eric Clapton’s “Layla.” She introduced the Beatles to Eastern spirituality and was a fixture of Swinging London’s cultural revolution.
And Maureen “Mo” Starkey, Ringo’s teenage sweetheart, lived a quieter but no less complicated life in the eye of the storm — fiercely private, loyal, and often overshadowed by the band’s fame.
Sawai, who won both an Emmy and a Golden Globe for her role in Shōgun, brings intensity and poise. Wood, a BAFTA winner, is known for her wit and emotional openness. McKenna-Bruce, fresh off her Cannes-winning performance, represents the next generation of British acting talent.
Ronan, the four-time Oscar nominee, lends gravitas to the project — and star power that connects the Beatles’ mythology to contemporary audiences.
Together, these four actresses suggest something deeper about what Mendes seems to be chasing: not just the legend of the Beatles, but the humanity of the people orbiting it — the women who lived, loved, and created alongside the most famous band in the world.
