Doctor Who’s Arthur Darvill will play Derek Taylor in four Beatles films in 2028
In one of the most ambitious biopic projects ever, Sam Mendes is creating four linked movies about The Beatles. Each film follows the path of a different member of the fab four, but shares the same cast. They retell some events multiple times from the perspective of the different band members, while the stories continue with their own unique dramas. Doctor Who star Arthur Darvill, who played the Eleventh Doctor’s companion Rory Williams, will appear in all four films.
Darvill plays Derek Taylor, the journalist who became the Beatles’ press officer. Taylor’s talent for promotion and managing the press helped transform the four from a talented band into a pop culture phenomenon. It also led to him being one of several people fans and the media dubbed ‘the fifth Beatle.’
Talking to the Half the Picture podcast, Darvill called it “a dream job.”
“I’ve been a Beatles obsessive since I was a kid,” said the Doctor Who star. “When I was ten, eleven, it was all I listened to. I didn’t listen to anything else. So getting to be in these films is just like a dream come true.”
The films also feature other actors known to Doctor Who fans. There’s James Norton (Cold War) as Brian Epstein, Harry Lloyd (Human Nature) as George Martin, David Morrissey (The Next Doctor) as Jim McCartney, and also Daniel Hoffmann-Gill (The Magician’s Apprentice) as Mal Evans.
Headlining the cast are Harris Dickinson as John Lennon, Paul Mescal as Paul McCartney, Joseph Quinn as George Harrison, and Barry Keoghan as Ringo Starr. Other stars include Saoirse Ronan as Linda McCartney, and, interestingly, Lucy Boynton as the actor Jane Asher (The Sarah Jane Adventures: Whatever Happened to Sarah Jane?).
All four films will be in cinemas simultaneously from the 7th of April, 2028.
