This is what Hollywood actors including Barry Keoghan and Paul Mescal could look like as The Beatles in new biopic according to AI. The Oscar-nominated Irish actors will be joined by Londoners Harris Dickinson and Joseph Quinn to complete the Liverpool popstars in four major new films about each member of the band.
AI creator Duncan Thomsen, 55, made the images in an attempt to reimagine the four actors in their musical roles - during each era of the Beatles.
The images show the band throughout their decade of success in the 60s - from their early days donning matching suits, to their Rubber Soul album released in 1965 towards the latter stages of the Beatlemania hysteria and finally the crescendo of the Fab Four, the Let It Be studio pictures.
Duncan said: "I really like them all but the Rubber Soul stands out as they look so cool and like an iconic band.
"The Let it Be four shot is also good as we see them in a more candid situation and it makes me feel as though I'm there with them.
"I also like the early ones as they are young and at the beginning of their journey and it's fun to see that.
"It makes me look forward to seeing the film and how the actors will be aged and grow older during it."
Sony Pictures announced this week that Normal People's Mescal will portray Paul McCartney whilst Saltburn star Barry Keoghan will pick up the drumsticks as Ringo Starr. John Lennon will be played by Babygirl star Dickinson and finally Joseph Quinn - who recently stared in Gladiator II alongside Mescal - will play George Harrison.
The quadrilogy will be directed by Sam Mendes and be released one after the other in April 2028. Duncan has admitted that "retaining the essence of time" in the AI photos was a challenge.
He added: "They were quite hard to get right as the images are so iconic in the age they were made. From black and white through to colour. The face swapping was quite hard as they had to fit well to be believable but that is probably why the actors have been cast as they are similar to the original band.
"All the actors are already in some amazing films and TV shows and I think they really have something about them that reminds me of the Fab Four and so it'll be cool to see them perform and take us on the journey the Beatles went through."
AI responds to prompts and commands set by the user and creates pictures by referencing billions of images online. Duncan uses the software Midjourney to make his own hyper-realistic photos.
It comes in the wake of fans complaining that the foursome look nothing like the iconic band members. Earlier this week, one user said: “I’m crying, they look nothing like The Beatles.” Another added: “They don’t even look like The Beatles at all, oh this is going to flop.”
A third echoed: “Not a single person here remotely looks like any Beatle.” A fourth chimed in: “Makeup better be fantastic because this is questionable.” A fifth user commented: “Four famous men who look nothing like The Beatles star in The Beatles films!! Okay…”
Another said: “That man is not George Harrison in any way lol,” while @maculvein said: “If these are any good at all the hair and makeup team need to be awarded the Nobel prize.”
“Even if I squint, I don’t see The Beatles,” said @Road2Oscars as @LSN_Frantz asked: “They don’t look anything like The Beatles. There were no no-name up and coming actors that looked like the band?”
“No way it’s real I thought was April fools post,” commented another disgruntled fan.
“It’s horribly miscast. Only thing in common is they’re both vaguely weird looking,” added another.
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