James Norton is set to play Brian Epstein in Sam Mendes’ four-part Beatles film project | film

Happy Valley star James Norton is reportedly set to play the Beatles’ manager, Brian Epstein, in Sam Mendes’ four-film biopic of the band.

According to Deadline, Norton will play Epstein, who discovered the Beatles in 1961 and served as their manager until his death in 1967. No details have been officially revealed, and Sony’s Hollywood studio, which produces the films, has not commented.

Mendes’ ambitious project, consisting of four solo films each focusing on a different band member, was announced in 2024, and details have been gradually released since then.

With a release date set for 2028, Mendes said the films will tell interconnected stories, marking the first time Apple, the holder of the rights to the Beatles, has given the entire life story and music rights to a scripted film.

In April 2025, the four actors playing The Beatles were introduced on stage at CinemaCon in Las Vegas – Paul Mescal (Paul McCartney), Harris Dickinson (John Lennon), Barry Keoghan (Ringo Starr) and Joseph Quinn (George Harrison). In May, it was revealed that Mendes had hired three writers – Jez Butterworth, Peter Straughan, and Jack Thorne – to work on the scripts. It was reported in October that Saoirse Ronan would play Linda McCartney, who was married to Paul McCartney from 1969 until her death in 1998.

Epstein has been depicted on film several times in the past, including David Angus in the 1991 film The Hours and Times, Ed Stoppard in the 2014 ITV miniseries Cilla, Cilla Black, and Jacob Fortune-Lloyd in the 2024 biopic Midas Man.