Danny Boyle’s Next Movie Stars Ed Sheeran as Himself

The announcement of a musical comedy from Danny Boyle and Richard Curtis came days after word got out that Boyle would be directing the next James Bond movie. Now that Boyle has left the 007 sequel, this other period-set project is all we have to look forward to from the Trainspotting and Slumdog Millionaire director. So, it’s time we learned more about it.

Rolling Stone revealed the feature will be about a singer-songwriter played by Himesh Patel (EastEnders) who wakes up one morning to discover that he’s the only person in the entire world who remembers The Beatles. And who better to help move along the plot than an actual real-life singer-songwriter? Joining Patel in the movie will be none other than Ed Sheeran, as himself.

“I discover him and take him on tour. Then he gets much, much bigger than me through doing stuff. Yeah, it’s very clever,” Sheeran said in an interview with the Associated Press. We can make an educated guess that Patel’s character will be using the songs of The Beatles to boost his fame in this apparent twist on the Star is Born model.

Sheeran’s acting credits so far are made up of some smaller roles on TV shows. But it seems like his experience on this Beatles project has been different for him. “I got to actually kind of learn how to act,” he explained. “With the Game of Thrones thing, that was literally me popping in for a day and making a cameo. Or Bastard Executioner was me popping in for a day. But this was like full days on set, like full 12-hour days.” Perhaps this could kickstart Sheeran’s future of acting in bigger roles.

Besides Sheeran, starring alongside Patel will be Lily James, fresh off of Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again, playing a teacher. So far, other credits include Ana de Armas (Blade Runner 2049), Lamorne Morris (New Girl), and Kate McKinnon (Saturday Night Live), who plays a talent agent. This is a very interesting mix for a cast, so I’m excited to see how this will all play out not only with the comedic side of the story but also with the musical aspects.

Obviously, given the plot of the film, the leading characters are going to have to have some sort of talent when it comes to singing. It’s no secret that Lily James is more than capable of carrying a tune, but as for Patel there isn’t much on the internet to back the fact that he can sing. One of my many questions is how the music is going to play into this new feature. Are we going to get an Across the Universe kind of deal, or will it only include a few songs as Patel tries to teach everyone who The Beatles are?

Another question I have is what exactly are the details of this plot that we aren’t being told yet? We know that one day a man wakes up and realizes that no one knows who The Beatles are, but how? Maybe the movie will never explain. It could just be something that happens for the sole purpose of the plot. But is there something that causes this sudden forgetting except in one person? This is everyone’s Mandela Effect nightmare come true.

Later on in the movie do people start to remember who The Beatles are? Do they start to rebel and realize that Patel’s character has been using the talents of other songwriters to get his career where it needs to be? We can’t say for sure right now, as the plot has been very hush-hush. But, this small amount of information that we have received is leaving me with even more questions than I had when I knew nothing about the casting or the plot.

The title for this upcoming feature isn’t known yet either. As of now, “Untitled Danny Boyle/Richard Curtis Project” is set to release on September 13, 2019.

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