The Beatles Are Keeping a Key Player Away From ‘The Batman: Part II’ and ‘Dune: Part Three’ [Exclusive]

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Harris Dickinson, Paul Mescal, Barry Keoghan, and Joseph Quinn as The Beatles

Ryan O'Rourke is a Senior News Writer at Collider with a specific interest in all things adult animation, video game adaptations, and the work of Mike Flanagan. He is also an experienced baseball writer with over six years of articles between multiple outlets, most notably FanSided's CubbiesCrib. Whether it's taking in a baseball game, a new season of Futurama or Castlevania: Nocturne, or playing the latest From Software title, he is always finding ways to show his fandom. When it comes to gaming and anything that takes inspiration from it, he is deeply opinionated on what's going on. Outside of entertainment, he's a graduate of Eureka College with a Bachelor's in Communication where he honed his craft as a writer. Between The IV Leader at Illinois Valley Community College and The Pegasus at Eureka, he spent the majority of his college career publishing articles on everything from politics to campus happenings and, of course, entertainment for the student body. Those principles he learned covering the 2020 election, Palestine, and so much more are brought here to Collider, where he has gleefully written on everything from the SAG-AFTRA and WGA strikes to Nathan Lane baby-birding sewer boys.

Cinematographer Greig Fraser has defined the look of some of the biggest movies to hit theaters in recent memory, including both of Denis Villeneuve's blockbuster Dune films and Matt Reeves' dark and gritty The Batman. Yet, neither of their upcoming follow-ups in 2026 and 2027, respectively, will have his touch behind the camera. That's because we've learned Fraser has been taped to shoot all four of Sam Mendes's upcoming The Beatles biopics slated for release in 2028.

So the other day, when Collider's Steve Weintraub got the chance to talk with Paul Mescal about his fantastic work in the Oscar contender Hamnet, the star teased what Fraser is bringing to the table for the ambitious undertaking and how the project plays to the cinematographer's creativity. If you're not aware, Mescal will be playing Paul McCartney alongside Harris Dickinson (John Lennon), Barry Keoghan (Ringo Starr), and Joseph Quinn (George Harrison).

The second Fraser was mentioned, Mescal didn't hesitate to admit he was a fan of his, too. "Oh my God, me too," he concurred. Fraser has put in yeoman's work in Hollywood over the last decade plus, earning acclaim for his cinematography on everything from Zero Dark Thirty to Garth Davis's Lion, Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, The Mandalorian, and, of course, the three major Warner Bros. blockbusters from the past five years. It was Dune: Part One in 2021 that finally earned him his first Academy Award and widespread recognition as being among the best in the business. Mescal doesn't doubt that he could've fit both Dune: Part Three and The Batman: Part II into his schedule if he tried, but he thinks The Beatles movies gave him something unique.

Mendes' films were announced in wild fashion back in April 2025, revealing not only that Mescal would play the legendary Paul McCartney alongside Dickinson, Keoghan, and Quinn, but all four films would be released on the same date. Getting in on the ground floor with the director gave Fraser a chance to shape this cinematic event from start to finish. For Mescal, it's been a sight to behold seeing a master at work, too, discussing the creativity, meticulous nature, and malleability he brought from day one. He told Collider:

"I think he's a real master. Watching him and Sam [Mendes] building the land, because it's a real undertaking, what Greig is going on, and what Sam is going on, in terms of building a visual language that is singular to each of the films, but also singular to the anthology of films that we're making. It requires a real mastery of the craft, and he is brilliant with actors. He's extraordinary with lighting. He lights things over the weekend, so we get in there, and the set moves so fast. We're not waiting for him to light. He's a real artist. He's not fixed. He's like, 'best idea wins,' and oftentimes he's super malleable."

Mescal Says Fraser's Been a "Generous" Partner on the Beatles Biopics

Production officially got underway on the Beatles films back in mid-November and is expected to continue throughout most of 2026. Even though they have a long road ahead of them, Mescal says that Fraser has already taught him so much and been so welcoming of the actor's curiosity with what goes on off-screen. "He's just incredibly artistic and generous with what he is willing to share," he continued. "I'm really curious about the work behind the camera and watching him, and I'm able to have conversations that I'm sure are super basic for him, but he shares his knowledge with me. Because I think it's important as actors that you invest in the time and the creativity that's not just in your own head, but with the creatives, and what's going on around you from other departments."

As for what's actually happening on set, Mescal couldn't give as much away. He did, however, offer a bit of insight into how Mendes and Fraser are going about shooting four films from four perspectives at the same time and what order things are being shot in. "It's pretty consistent in terms of the worlds, but it jumps around a little bit," he added. "But we are kind of focusing on certain films in blocks." When asked if the director and cinematographer duo would be giving each Beatle's biopic a different aesthetic, Mescal merely teased, "You’ll have to wait and see."

'Hamnet' May Bring Mescal Back to the Oscars

Paul Mescal and Jessie Buckley in Hamnet

The Beatles mark Mescal's next big undertaking after starring in the widely acclaimed Hamnet last year. Directed by Chloé Zhao, based on Maggie O'Farrell's novel of the same name, it centers not on William Shakespeare's legendary play Hamlet, but the tragic story that inspired it, of how the playwright and his wife Agnes grapple with the death of their eleven-year-old son. The film as a whole, Zhao, and both stars Mescal and Jessie Buckley are all expected to get Oscar nominations this year, especially after receiving similar nods at the Critics' Choice Awards and Golden Globes. It'll face stiff competition, however, in a year that featured no shortage of critically lauded features like One Battle After Another, Sinners, Guillermo del Toro's Frankenstein, and more.

All four of The Beatles biopics are set to premiere in April 2028 on the same day. Stay tuned here at Collider for more on the ambitious cinematic undertaking and our full conversation with Mescal.