Beatles Biopics Banned from Filming at Abbey Road

The Beatles’ new biopics have hit a major stumbling block as filmmakers have reportedly been banned from shooting on the iconic Abbey Road.

Earlier this year Sony confirmed the cast for the four Beatles projects following a sea of speculation, with all four films set to be released in April 2028.

Gladiator II hunk Paul Mescal will play Paul McCartney, Harris Dickinson will play John Lennon, Barry Keoghan will star as Ringo Starr and Joseph Quinn will play George Harrison in the films about The Fab Four.

However, with production underway, it’s now been claimed bosses have been blocked from filming at the iconic Abbey Road crossing.

Sam Mendes, who is directing the films, had wanted to recreate the Beatles’ 1969 album cover on the crossing.

Westminster Council have reportedly refused permission as filming at the legendary location would force result in the road being temporarily closed, causing traffic chaos.

Gladiator II hunk Paul Mescal will play Paul McCartney, Harris Dickinson will play John Lennon, Barry Keoghan will star as Ringo Starr and Joseph Quinn will play George Harrison in the films

However, with production underway, it’s now been revealed bosses have been blocked from filming at the iconic Abbey Road crossing

An insider told The Sun: ‘It’s believed they turned down the request on the basis that they’d have to shut down the road for filming to take place safely.

‘The trouble is that the huge number of tourists who visit the area often cause disruption by having their picture taken recreating the scene. 

‘That would be magnified by having dozens of cast and crew present to do the same thing for the movie. Now the producers are facing the prospect of omitting the scene as they really don’t want to rely on CGI because that would not look authentic.

‘The hope is that they kind a road that looks similar enough that they can still make it happen in some form.’

Daily Mail has contacted Westminster Council for comment.

Earlier this month it was revealed the actresses who had been cast to play the Fab Four’s wives in the biopics.

White Lotus star Aimee Lou Wood, 31, will play George Harrison’s wife Pattie Boyd, while Irish Oscar nominee Saoirse Ronan, 31, has been cast as Linda McCartney, the muse to many of Paul McCartney’s songs. 

Anna Sawai, 33, who has made a name for herself in the US drama series Shogun, will appear as John Lennon’s wife Yoko Ono, and British actress Mia McKenna-Bruce, 28, will play Maureen Cox, the wife of Ringo Starr. 

Sam Mendes, who is directing the films, had wanted to recreate the Beatles’ 1969 album cover on the crossing (pictured in March)

The Beatles on stage at the London Palladium during a performance in front of 2, 000 screaming fans in 1963 

Entitled The Beatles: A Four-Film Cinematic Event, the project was announced last year.

The movies will each take the perspective of one member of The Beatles as they evolve from unknowns in Liverpool in the early 1960s to becoming the biggest band in the world and then breaking up in 1970.

It’s the first time that surviving Beatles McCartney and Starr, and the families of the late Lennon and Harrison, have given the rights to feature films about them.

Announcing the female foursome, Mendes said: ‘Maureen, Linda, Yoko and Pattie are four fascinating and unique figures in their own right, and I’m thrilled that we’ve managed to persuade four of the most talented women working in film today to join this amazing adventure.’