Proof that Liverpool is the most filmed city in the UK after London is the ability to walk through the city on a random Tuesday evening and stumble across a film crew for the new Beatles biopics and see Barry Keoghan as Ringo Star.
A set of four individual films, focusing on each of the legendary Beatles, are currently in production and seemly using a lot of Liverpool filming locations. All four are being directed by Sam Mendes and star Harris Dickinson, Paul Mescal, Barry Keoghan and Joseph Quinn as The Beatles. They are due to be released in April 2028 Beatles Biopic Movie: Everything We Know About Sam Mendes’ 2028 Project
Around October 2025 there was a call out for extras in the Liverpool area by the company Key Casting. While they didn’t specifically mention the Beatles films the announcement strongly hinted at them – if you were paying attention “These feature films tell the story of legendary British icons.”
In January 2026 there was an article posted on the Visit Liverpool website anticipating the filming, it suggested locations in the city with an authentic Beatles connection that could be used Liverpool’s Role in the New Beatles Films: Cast, Locations, and Local Connections | VisitLiverpool
Finally, in February, filming began in Liverpool with some of the actors spotted on location and streets transformed to recreate the 1960s Liverpool street closed for major production as filming transforms area of city – Liverpool Echo
On Tuesday 3rd March I was in Liverpool for an evening class and as I walked from the city centre up towards Hope Street I noticed a few people in fluorescent waistcoats holding radios. They were standing by traffic light junctions waiting to put metal barriers in place. “Interesting”, I thought and carried on walking. When I got to the junction of Hardman Street and Hope Street I saw a green vintage bus being driven past the Philharmonic Hall.
The green number three bus heading to Walton was being driven down the road as a large group of excited people gathered to watch. The bus was also part of the elaborate set outside the Plaza Community Cinema on Monday evening (March 2).
Liverpool Echo. 4th March 2026
A vintage bus is an unusual sight in 2026 but this one – the Number 3, destination Walton – looked familiar as I’d seen it in pictures online just that morning in an article about filming the day before at the Plaza Community Cinema on Crosby Road North. Famous Merseyside building transformed as road goes back in time for filming – Liverpool Echo I knew then that they were filming one of The Beatles films nearby! This was about 7pm and I had to go to my class, but when I came out at 9pm I went for a wander.
I wondered if they were filming at the nearby Ye Cracke, a pub that John Lennon used to frequent in his youth, which – due to sympathetic restoration – still looks much as it did then. Nothing was happening there but there were white vans and plenty of security personnel down nearby side roads. I noticed several grey minibuses driving around, which I was pretty confident were for shuttling supporting artists and crew about. After doing a circuit out towards the Anglican Cathedral and back to Hardman Street I discovered Rodney Street had been blocked off for filming and could see plenty of crew and more vintage vehicles.
Soon afterwards the crew put up barriers covered with black mesh to shield the filming from prying eyes. It didn’t deter people from trying to catch a glimpse of something and before long a small crowd of curious bystanders had gathered, with a couple of them attempting to climb on street furniture to get a better view.
Actual filming seemed to be taking place in the doorway closest to the crowd. If you were tall enough and stepped back you could see two actors in position. One figure looked like a 1960s era Beatle with the trademark mop of dark hair. Of the four lead actors this was easily identifiable as Barry Keoghan playing Ringo Starr. He was with a woman (presumably playing Ringo’s girlfriend, possibly Mia McKenna-Bruce) and they were both being sheltered from the artificial rain by a man with a large umbrella. Barry seemed to fluff his hair several times before shooting, and at one point appeared to acknowledge the observers with Ringo’s trademark ‘Peace & Love’ sign. There was no camera that I could see, so I think it may have been positioned inside the building filming them entering.
They repeated the scene several times, with the couple waiting by the door each time. Barry would knock, an unseen person would open it from the other side and the couple would hurry indoors – as if seeking shelter from the rain – at this point the man holding the umbrella for the actors quickly would quickly hide out of shot. I’d hazard a guess that they also filmed them getting out of one of the classic cars before this scene.
At one point the crew raised another screen to block out a nearby traffic signal which was casting light in the background and presumably interfering with the shot.
With my curiosity now satisfied I moved on after about 10 minutes – having taken a few photos and a video. I was quite pleased to have accidently come across the filming without any effort and to have also seen one of the lead actors. Barry Keoghan isn’t a stranger to Merseyside as he filmed some of the Peaky Blinders film ‘The Immortal Man’ across the region, including St Helens, which I wrote about here.
The filming was covered in the Liverpool Echo Famous Liverpool road closed as crowd gathers for major production – Liverpool Echo I also kept an eye on social media the following day and saw a suggestion that I may have witnessed a scene where Ringo and his girlfriend visit Brian Epstein. We’ll find out in 2028 when the films are released. In the meantime I’ll stay vigilant!
P.S. I was back in Liverpool a few days later and walked by Rodney Street again to take a look at the house they’d used for filming. Interestingly on the night of filming the door appeared black, but in reality it’s green. It’s the same house number – 27 – so it could have been a trick of the light but it’s more likely that it was painted for the filming then returned to its original colour.
From scene to seen 