"Don't do this": Paul McCartney shares his one specific issue with the new Beatles movies

Paul McCartney has issued a plea to the makers of the new Beatles movies, but it might be a tall order. Four individual films about the members of the group – McCartney, John Lennon, George Harrison, and Ringo Starr – are all set to be released in April 2028.

Paul Mescal is set to star as McCartney in the films alongside Harris Dickinson as Lennon, Joseph Quinn as Harrison, and Barry Keoghan as Starr.

Speaking to Amy Poehler on her Good Hang podcast, McCartney shared one huge issue he has with representations of the band in the past – his height being misrepresented.

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"We were all the same height, and Ringo was a bit smaller, but when Sam Taylor-Wood did Nowhere Boy, the John Lennon character was bigger than me in the film," he said.

"My character is wimpy and smaller than John, and is easily knocked to the floor."

McCartney also recalled how he contacted director Sam Taylor-Wood to discuss the issue.

"Her only explanation was that it was a movie, not a documentary, and I did not like that," he said. "There was me as little Paul, and John was a great big hero."

Now, with the new films in production, McCartney revealed that director Sam Mendes got in touch with him to share some early material, and the issue reared its head yet again.

"Guess what? Mescal is smaller than the guy who plays John," he laughed."[Sam] sent me a still of the filming they were doing of when they were crossing the Abbey Road crossing, and the Paul character is markedly smaller."

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"I texted him saying: Sam, he's smaller. Don't do this. He said it's okay, it's just the stride pattern, they're all equal," he added.

Harry Lawtey is set to star as Stuart Sutcliffe, the original bass guitarist for The Beatles, alongside Morfydd Clark as Cynthia Lennon, John Lennon’s first wife.

Also in the cast are Mia McKenna-Bruce as Ringo Starr's wife Maureen Starkey, Saoirse Ronan as Linda McCartney, Anna Sawai as John Lennon's wife and musical collaborator Yoko Ono, and Aimee Lou Wood as Pattie Boyd, George Harrison's wife.

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Freelance Reporter, Digital Spy Rebecca is a freelance journalist who specializes in TV and film. After beginning her career as a digital entertainment journalist for the Express & Star and Shropshire Star, she embarked on a freelance career in 2021 contributing to the likes of Metro UK, The Sun, WhatCulture, Screen Rant, FilmHounds Magazine and more. Her particular field of interest is horror cinema and she has written for genre publications such as Ghouls Magazine and Moving Pictures Film Club. LinkedIn