Pictures from the set of the Beatles biopics have shown stars Paul Mescal, Harris Dickinson, Barry Keoghan and Joseph Quinn recreating one of the most iconic photos ever taken of the band. The actors were snapped in full costume shooting in London on Sunday as they lined up to walk together across the famous Abbey Road zebra crossing.
Filming at the Real Abbey Road
Situated outside the renowned Abbey Road Studios in St John’s Wood, where the Fab Four recorded most of their songs, the highly anticipated set of four movies from director Sir Sam Mendes – each focusing on a different Beatle and scheduled for simultaneous release in 2028 – were able to take advantage of the real location. The snap was famously used as the front cover of the Beatles’ 11th studio album Abbey Road, released in September 1969.
With the cast stepping directly into the shoes of their counterparts, the movies were shown to be sparing no detail when it came to paying faithful homage to the original picture. Dickinson’s John Lennon led the way in photos of them on the crossing, dressed in a replica cream suit and canvas trainers, and walking with his hands in his pockets and sporting an era-accurate bushy beard.
Details from the Recreation
Keoghan’s Sir Ringo Starr was next, with the Irish Oscar nominee wearing a black suit just like the drummer’s in the original photo, black boots and a vibrant printed tie, while Mescal followed behind as Sir Paul McCartney in a white shirt and dark blue suit, walking somewhat bravely in bare feet. (If you’ve never spotted that detail before on the original album cover, now you know!)
Fantastic Five actor Quinn brought up the rear as George Harrison in a denim shirt and blue denim flared jeans, also rocking the guitarist’s shoulder-length dark hair at the time and beard. The original cover image was taken by Scottish photographer Iain Macmillan, based on an idea sketched by McCartney; he was given just 10 minutes to snap the photograph, while balanced on a stepladder in the middle of the road, as a policeman held up traffic behind the camera.
It’s likely that Mendes’ production – which video shared on social media revealed had more than 20 members of crew on set while this recreation was being captured – had a little longer this time. Abbey Road was also the final album the Beatles recorded together, with the later release of Let It Be down to production issues delaying it beyond Abbey Road, as well as beyond their official break-up announcement in April 1970.
Local Disruption and Excitement
In a rather unexpected crossover, TV presenter Vanessa Feltz got caught up in the on-location filming as well, claiming it left her stuck inside her home. Feltz, 64, posted a video on Instagram showing classic cars parked in the street and the road cordoned off.
‘So Saskia (her daughter) and the children have come for lunch, but they couldn’t get into the road at all,’ she began, while standing on the street. ‘We weren’t really sure why, we thought, “What, more roadworks?”, I was just about to start objecting – no, not really – and it turns out they’re making the Beatles movie in Abbey Road. And can you see the cars? And we’ve just passed John Lennon’s iconic Rolls-Royce, they’re recreating the crossing of Abbey Road moment, and so therefore it’s been a bit of a thing to get both in to and out of my road. But anyway, how exciting!’
Mendes’ The Beatles – A Four-Film Cinematic Event, are films about each member of the band, charting their rise as unknowns in Liverpool before becoming famous in the 1960s – and later, one of the most famous musical acts in history. It’s the first time that surviving Beatles McCartney and Starr – together with the families of Lennon and Harrison – have agreed to give the rights for feature films telling their story and featuring their music.
The cast also includes House of the Dragon star James Norton as the band’s manager Brian Epstein, Aimee Lou Wood as Harrison’s wife Pattie Boyd, Saoirse Ronan as Linda McCartney, Anna Sawai as Yoko Ono and Mia McKenna-Bruce as Ringo’s first wife, Maureen Starkey, while Harry Lloyd plays George Martin, the group’s producer who was known as the ‘fifth Beatle’. The Beatles – A Four-Film Cinematic Event is scheduled for release in cinemas in April 2028.
