Jane Asher says she will not watch Sam Mendes' Beatles films
Jane Asher, who was engaged to Paul McCartney in the 1960s, said she does not plan to watch Sam Mendes' four Beatles biopics. She told The Telegraph that the filmmakers approached her, but she has long refused to discuss her relationship with McCartney. Lucy Boynton will play Asher in the films, with Paul Mescal cast as McCartney.
Jane Asher, now 80, was Paul McCartney’s girlfriend from 1963 to 1968. They became engaged in 1967, then separated the next year. She has said filmmakers on Sam Mendes’s project got in touch, but she gave her customary response: she does not publicly discuss McCartney. Lucy Boynton will portray her, while Paul Mescal plays McCartney.
Asher told The Telegraph she will skip the films, partly because watching would invite people to ask her opinion. She also recalled declining paid offers to speak about the relationship, saying it happened too long ago. The four linked Beatles movies, approved by Apple Corps and surviving band members, are set for April 2028.
The biopics could renew public fascination with the Beatles’ personal histories, including Asher’s role, and may increase pressure on real-life figures to comment. Her decision to stay silent could reinforce a boundary between dramatized portrayals and private memory, perhaps encouraging audiences to treat such films as interpretation rather than testimony. For Mendes, Boynton and Mescal, the attention may bring extra scrutiny, but it is unlikely to reduce interest in the project.