Barry Keoghan’s star launched into the stratosphere with Saltburn like a flood of bathwater. From Masters Of The Air to the Peaky Blinders movie, he has continued plucking up prestige roles everywhere, and Sabrina Carpenter’s boyfriend isn’t done yet. Keoghan has been rumored to portray one of the Fab Four in Sam Mendes’ quartet of The Beatles biopics, each devoted to Starr, John Lennon, Paul McCartney, and George Harrison.
Although casting picks haven’t been confirmed by Sony, Entertainment Tonight caught up with Starr, and the outlet quoted his reaction on the Keoghan chatter: “I think it’s great,” he declared before adding, “I believe he’s somewhere taking drum lessons, and I hope not too many.”
Deadline further notes that other actors who are “circling” roles include Harris Dickinson (soon to be seen in A24’s Babygirl with Nicole Kidman) as John Lennon as well as Paul Mescal and Joseph Quinn (both currently starring in Gladiator 2) for Paul McCartney and George Harrison, respectively. Still, none of these names are set in stone until Sony says otherwise, but Ringo is more than suggesting that he’s got the inside dish, at least for his own likeness.
As for Ringo’s hopes that Keoghan isn’t practicing too hard on those drumming skills, this is surely a joke intended for those who are critical of Ringo’s own contributions to The Beatles. During a resurfacing of that discussion in 2017, The Guardian pointed towards the words of Dave Grohl (he remains so hardcore about drumming that he treats the guitar as a kit), who threw his weight behind Starr during his Rock & Roll Hall of Fame presentation: “Define ‘best drummer in the world. Is it someone that’s technically proficient? Or is it someone that sits in the song with their own feel? Ringo was the king of feel.”
According to a Sony Pictures Entertainment press release, Mendes’ four movies “will intersect to tell the astonishing story of the greatest band in history.” The project is tentatively scheduled for a 2027 theatrical rollout.