James Norton cast as Brian Epstein in Mendes Beatles four-part series

James Norton has been cast as Brian Epstein in Sam Mendes' sprawling Beatles project, a fourpart cinematic series that will tell the story of each member of the band from their own perspective and is scheduled for theatrical release in April 2028. The ensemble already includes Paul Mescal as Paul McCartney, Harris Dickinson as John Lennon, Barry Keoghan as Ringo Starr, and Joseph Quinn as George Harrison. Representatives for the studio declined to comment on Norton’s casting.

Mendes will direct the quartet from scripts by Jez Butterworth, Peter Straughan and Jack Thorne. The films are a collaboration between Sony Pictures Entertainment and Mendes’ Neal Street Productions, produced by Mendes, Pippa Harris, Julie Pastor and Alexandra Derbyshire in association with Apple Corps. The project marks the first time Apple Corps and the surviving interests tied to the group have authorised the use of the band members’ life stories and music in scripted films. Production is expected to take place in 2026, with cinematography by Greig Fraser reported for the series.

Norton will portray Epstein, the manager who discovered the group at Liverpool’s Cavern Club in 1961 and guided them to global...