First look at Beatles movies 'Fab Four' has fans still unsure of casting choices

Production is underway for the upcoming Beatles biopics (set to release in 2028), and we finally have our first look at the cast in character as the Fab Four.

In somewhat of a marketing stunt for the four-part film event, postcards featuring images of the actors as their respective Beatles were distributed at the Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts on Thursday.

The cards show Harris Dickinson as John Lennon, Paul Mescal as Paul McCartney, Joseph Quinn as George Harrison, and Barry Keoghan as Ringo Starr.

Images of the cards were posted on the school's Instagram account and have since been circulating on social media, garnering a mixed reaction from fans, as we also saw upon the initial casting announcement.

Of course, the stunt made its way to Reddit, and fans didn’t hesitate to let their feelings be known.

Paul Mescal seemed to hit the mark the best, with multiple Reddit users complimenting his lookalike with McCartney. 

As one commented, “Mescal actually looks like Paul. I'm surprised, I thought he'd be a better fit for John, but this works!”

Others agreed on the likeness, saying, “You can see it in his most recent interviews, some of his mannerisms are very Macca [McCartney], you can tell he's in the thick of it.”

Barry Koeghan, who’s undergone the most drastic transformation of the four sporting Starr’s prominent bowl cut and what looks to be some prosthetic work on the nose, brought in most of the mixed reactions. 

While one commentator thought “the fake nose on Barry looks great”, plenty disagreed with one calling the nose “a tragedy” and naming him “Wrongo” rather than Ringo. 

Quinn apparently looks too much like Joseph Quinn, and then Dickinson as Lennon caused the least commotion, although it’s a bit harder to make out what he looks like from the shadowy card image.

“The resemblance is ok with some of them, but when I look at Joseph Quinn, all I can see is Joseph Quinn.” 

The images seemed to take a few to 'Uncanny Valley', which at least suggests there’s an almost similarity there.

“I get an uncanny valley feeling looking at all of them”

Facebook commenters on Variety’s post were more positive and earned an “impressive”, an “I cannot wait”, and a “wow, they pulled it off”. 

Putting looks aside, at the end of the day, what it’ll really come down to is the acting (having four actors at the top of their game right now bodes well), the music and the production itself.

As director Sam Mendes said in an initial statement upon the film’s announcement, “I’m honoured to be telling the story of the greatest rock band of all time, and excited to challenge the notion of what constitutes a trip to the movies”. 

Who knows, maybe the naysayers will be singing praise come April 2028.