Ringo Starr ‘excited’ to see what director Sam Mendes does with new Beatles movie

They were the four lads from Liverpool who changed the world. As the Beatles John, Paul, George and Ringo went on to achieve unparalleled commercial and critical success and changed the course of popular music.

For a band befitting this legacy it comes as no surprise that reams of film have been recorded about the lads, from 1994’s Backbeat, which traced their formative years in Hamburg, Germany to Peter Jackson’s recent documentary The Beatles: Get Back, which offered fans a new, intimate look at musicians and captured the “multiple storylines” that occurred as four talented individuals recorded their final album together.

While it seems there’s nothing left to tell, a new movie about the group is in the works and no one is more excited than the band’s drummer, Ringo Starr.

In a recent announcement, British director Sam Mendes revealed he is set to make four separate films that will focus on each member of the group and tell the story of the band from their own perspective.

The legendary drummer and voice of Thomas the Tank Engine is particularly curious to see how Mendes will approach the project, saying it was “madness” to make four movies at the same time.

“My life as a lad, John’s life, Paul’s life, George’s life, I mean, it must interact in some way,” he said via People magazine.

“There’ll be Beatles in mine around when I joined, and there’ll be Beatles in Paul’s. We’ll all be there. So I’m excited to see what he does with it.”

Ringo Starr was not an original member of the band and was hired to replace previous drummer Pete Best in 1962 following the band’s first recording session. His dynamic drumming style, which emphasised feel over virtuosity, influenced many drummers still to today.

When Mendes first announced plans to make the Beatles movies in 2024, the news was met with excitement from fans and media outlets alike.

Talking to Dateline at the time, Mendes described the buzz around the idea for the four-movie project among movie industry heads in Hollywood.

“We went out to Los Angeles just before Christmas to pitch the project, and it’s fair to say we were met with universal enthusiasm,” Mendes said.