Social media footage this weekend revealed the cast of Sam Mendes' forthcoming four-film Beatles biopic recreating the iconic Abbey Road album cover on the zebra crossing outside Abbey Road Studios in London. The actors playing the band lined up on the kerb and walked across the road, mirroring the famous 1969 photograph.
Cast spotted filming at iconic location
Harris Dickinson, as John Lennon, led the walk, with Barry Keoghan as Ringo Starr, Paul Mescal as Paul McCartney, and Joseph Quinn as George Harrison following in sequence. The production team was spotted filming near the studio, a popular tourist landmark.
Background on the original album cover
The Beatles recorded Abbey Road mostly in the summer of 1969, and the cover photo was taken on 8 August after an initial idea to travel to Nepal for a photograph was abandoned. The album's working title was Everest, after a then-popular cigarette brand smoked by engineer Geoff Emerick. Freelance photographer Iain Macmillan took six stills from a stepladder positioned in the middle of the road, of which one was chosen.
Project details and release date
Mendes announced the project in February 2024, with four films each focusing on an individual Beatle. The films have backing from Hollywood studio Sony Pictures and the permission of both McCartney and Starr, as well as from the estates of Lennon and Harrison. In addition to the lead actors, the cast includes Saoirse Ronan as Linda McCartney, James Norton as Brian Epstein, and Lucy Boynton as Jane Asher. The films are due for release in April 2028.
