Anna Sawai has discussed how she was chosen to play Yoko Ono in the upcoming four-part film about The Beatles, which is being directed by Sam Mendes and is currently being filmed.
This unique film project will release four connected movies at the same time in April 2028. Each movie will tell the story of the famous rock band from the point of view of a different member.
The actors playing The Beatles are likely to be in all of the biopic episodes, but how much they appear will depend on how closely their character relates to the episode’s main subject.
Sawai is expected to collaborate heavily with Harris Dickinson, who will portray John Lennon, the singer and songwriter who married Yoko Ono in 1969.
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Yoko Ono faced intense criticism from both Beatles fans and the media for many years. She was largely blamed for the band’s split, and her own artistic work was often dismissed.
According to Sawai, who spoke with People magazine, the new movies will present a more complex and detailed portrayal of the woman and what she’s going through.
I find her story incredibly inspiring,” she said. “Many people don’t know what she was really like. She was a truly gifted artist, and she was also a very independent woman, which unfortunately rubbed some people the wrong way.
People were obsessed with John Lennon, and Yoko was an easy person to criticize because of that. It’s important to me to share her side of the story, and I truly admire her – she’s amazing.
Sawai’s most prominent project so far is likely the Beatles film, building on the success of her Emmy-winning performance as the lead actress in the historical drama Shōgun on FX/Disney Plus.
The actor previously appeared in Apple TV+ shows like Pachinko and Monarch: Legacy of Monsters, and also had a role in the BBC Two crime drama Giri/Haji.
Alongside Sawai and Dickinson, the upcoming Beatles film will feature Paul Mescal (known for Hamnet) as Paul McCartney, Joseph Quinn (of Fantastic Four) as George Harrison, and Barry Keoghan (Crime 101) as Ringo Starr.
Sawai recently told Variety that the four main actors are impressively performing covers of The Beatles’ songs while filming.
She noticed they’d stopped using the sheet music. They were playing and singing purely by ear, and she thought it sounded remarkably like The Beatles – a truly strange and wonderful experience.
The Beatles – A Four-Film Cinematic Event is coming to cinemas in April 2028.
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As someone who spends a lot of time watching TV, let me tell you, I’ve got my finger on the pulse of what’s good. I’m David Craig, and I write about all things drama and comedy for TopMob, covering everything from the newest shows on traditional television to the biggest hits on streaming services. Before this, I was at Starburst Magazine, and I even hosted a podcast called The Winter King for ITVX. My background is actually in Journalism – I studied it at the University of Sheffield.
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2026-02-22 16:04