Sam Mendes’ four-film extravaganza about The Beatles is making waves, even though it’s still more than a year and a half away from release. Filming has been underway for a few months now, and Paul McCartney has weighed in on a concern he has about Paul Mescal, who is playing the legendary bass player in the band. It’s actually a similar concern that fans have also expressed recently, though Paul’s take is much more lighthearted.
McCartney recently appeared on Good Hang with Amy Poehler, and among the many topics the two covered about his “crazy” life and times, the subject of the new movies came up. Paul joked around a bit about his major problem with the movie: Paul Mescal is “smaller than the guy who plays John.” John Lennon is being played by Harris Dickinson in the upcoming The Beatles – A Four-Film Cinematic Event. Paul said:
Sam Mendes is making the film. I said, ‘Sam, I’ve got just one thing that I need to say to you. Paul’s a bit smaller.’ So, I don’t know how Sam’s going to deal with it.
The line had everyone in the studio laughing, so it’s obvious the musician is having a bit of fun with all. It went on, though, when McCartney explained how Mendes tried to alleviate his concerns. It might have worked:
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He sent me a picture, still, from the filming they were doing, and they were crossing the Abbey Road Crossing. Yeah, I saw that too. The Paul character’s markedly smaller. So I’m texting him. ‘Sam! Don’t do this! You said you wouldn’t do it! He said, ‘No, it’s OK. It’s just the stride pattern, and he sent a little more.’ They were equal.
McCartney, by the way, is the tallest member of The Beatles, but Lennon and George Harrison were around the same height, at least according to the internet. He certainly wasn’t smaller than the other guys. It’s also worth noting that Mescal is, again, according to the internet, about the same height as McCartney (5’11”). Harrison Dickinson is 6’2”, so that does account for the difference McCartney was so keen to point out.
This isn’t the first time that someone has expressed concerns about the actors not looking like the four very famous people who are playing in the films. In August, the internet freaked out over paparazzi photos of the same scene McCartney mentions, with the band being photographed for the famous cover of Abbey Road. Like Mendes, I’m not worried about it, though, as what you see on set is often quite different from how things look on the big screen.
We still have a long wait for the four movies, and it’s still unclear what Sony’s plan is for the release, though it’s not expected to be part of the 2027 release schedule. It’s long been thought that all four would be released on the same day, April 7, 2028, but recent comments from producer Pippa Harris have brought that into question, and they could be released over a month. I can’t wait to see all four, no matter how they are released.