The Beatles’ impressive catalogue of music will reportedly be arriving on the West End for a brand new musical.
Richard Curtis, best known for Love Actually and Four Weddings and a Funeral, is said to be planning to turn smash hit film Yesterday into a stage show.
Alongside fellow producer Danny Boyle, he reportedly held a major event in front of potential investors including Sir Cameron Mackintosh and Andrew Lloyd Webber.
The duo are said to still be looking for a theatre to house their West End show as they hope to turn the 2019 film into a roaring stage success for ‘years and years’.
An insider told The Mirror: ‘This has been kept under wraps for months but it is a huge opportunity, and the prospect of a Beatles musical is too big to miss.’
‘There was a performance this week to show the basics of what the production will be, and all the big players in London’s theatre world came along,’ they added.
The Beatles ‘ impressive catalogue of music will reportedly be arriving on the West End for a brand new musical (Paul McCartney is pictured in February)
Richard Curtis , best known for Love Actually and Four Weddings and a Funeral, is said to be planning to turn smash hit film Yesterday – starring Himesh Patel (pictured) – into a stage show
Richard and Danny Boyle are said to still be looking for a theatre to house their West End show as they hope to turn the 2019 film into a roaring stage success (The Beatles pictured in 1969)
‘It’s a no-brainer that any theatre will want to host it so there is likely to be a bit of a bidding war to secure it.’
Richard, 68, wrote the script for the comedy/musical film while Danny served as director, and they are teaming up once again to bring their project back to life.
In the movie, Himesh Patel took on the leading role of Jack Malik, a struggling musician who wakes up after being hit by a bus to discover nobody has ever heard of The Beatles.
He decides to start singing The Fab Four’s famous back catalogue in a bid to find fame as he is supported by his love interest Ellie Appleton, played by Lily James.
If the film makes it to the stage, it will not be the first time that music from a world-famous band has inspired a musical.
Queen’s famous back catalogue was performed on stage in popular rock musical We Will Rock You by Ben Elton, while Michael Jackson’s music featured in MJ The Musical.
There have also been a string of popular films inspiring stage shows in recent years, with The Devil Wears Prada, Moulin Rouge and Clueless all currently featuring on the West End.
The lives of The Beatles’ stars are also set to be turned into four major biopics, with the cast for the Sam Mendes’ project being confirmed last month.
Richard (pictured), 68, wrote the script for the comedy/musical film while Danny served as director, and they are teaming up once again to bring their project back to life
In Yesterday, Himesh took on the leading role of a struggling musician who wakes up after an accident to discover nobody has ever heard of The Beatles. His love interest was played by Lily James
It comes after the cast for Sam Mendes’ upcoming Beatles biopics was confirmed. The four movies will star Paul Mescal (2nd L) as Paul McCartney, Harris Dickinson (L) as John Lennon, Barry Keoghan (2nd R) as Ringo Starr, and Joseph Quinn (R) as George Harrison
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 four films.
Sam, 59, appeared at the Caesar’s Palace event, revealing that all four films — called The Beatles: A Four-Film Cinematic Event — will come out in April 2028, with each film focusing on a different band member.
‘We’re not just making one film about the Beatles — we’re making four,’ he confirmed. ‘Perhaps this is a chance to understand them a little more deeply.’
‘The Beatles changed my understanding of music,’ he added. ‘I’ve been trying to make a movie about them for years.’
Speaking at Cinemacon, Sam said that he felt the story of The Beatles were ‘too big for one film,’ but he didn’t want to turn it into a television series.
‘Frankly, we need big cinematic events to get people out of the house,’ the Skyfall director added.
‘There had to be a way to tell the epic story for a new generation […] I can assure you there is still plenty left to explore and I think we found a way to do that.’
