Shōgun Star Ana Sawai Eyed To Play Yoko Ono In Sam Mendes’ Beatles Films

The star-studded cast for Sam Mendes’s audacious new films about The Beatles might be swelling with rumours abound stateside that the director may have found his Yoko Ono.

Reports from The InSneider across the pond are speculating that Emmy Winning actress Anna Sawai is being eyed for the coveted role after her huge success with FX series Shōgun. If true, she would the already cast Beatles – Paul Mescal (Gladiator II) as Paul McCartney, Harris Dickinson (Babygirl) as John Lennon, Barry Keoghan (Bring Them Down) as Ringo Star and Joseph Quinn (The Fantastic Four: First Steps) as George Harrison.

Already looking like a huge undertaking for Mendes, for his plan is to film four separate Beatles films, one for each of the quartet, and have them intersect to  “tell the astonishing story of the greatest band in history” which would chart their rise to fame and success and culminate in their eventual break-up in 1970, with Sawai as Ono. Sony Pictures will finance and distribute all four films and the plans thus far are to release them at the same time in 2027.

Mendes’s last film was 2022’s Empire of Light, which was a follow-up to his 2019 film 1917, which made almost $450million worldwide. He made his debut with 1999’s Oscar Winner American Beauty, and helmed two James Bond 007 films – Skyfall in 2012 and Spectre in 2015.

If all goes to plan, The Beatles films will be released in 2027. Sawai is set to star in the second season of Shōgun, which is eyeing a 2026 release.