Yesterday: Himesh Patel and Lily James Find Love in a World Where The Beatles Don't Exist
It may seem totally sacrilegious to think of a world where The Beatles don't exist, but the rock-and-roll comedy Yesterday (which also seems like it's going to have some romance in the mix) has us reconsidering.
The film's first trailer introduces struggling singer-songwriter Jack Malik (newcomer Himesh Patel), who, after a bike accident that knocks out his front teeth, wakes up in a world where no one remembers the music of The Beatles except for him. When he plays the wistful "Yesterday" for his friends after the accident, they ask him — obviously in awe — when he wrote the beautiful tune, though one of them notes that "it's no Coldplay. It's not 'Fix You'" . . . which is just disrespectful, honestly.
Directed by Slumdog Mullionaire's Danny Boyle and written by rom-com king Richard Curtis (of Four Weddings and a Funeral, Notting Hill, and Love Actually fame), the musical follows Patel's Jack as he does what any other sane wannabe rock star would do when a pot of gold lands in their lap: he passes the songs off as his own. Since no one can resist the allure of any Beatles song, fame and fortune follow, as well as Debra (Kate McKinnon), an American agent. But nothing is ever simple, and Jack's world is about to get a lot more complicated than when his only fan was his childhood best friend, Ellie (Lily James).
While the trailer will undoubtedly make you think of Across the Universe because of its heavy use of music from the iconic band, Yesterday has a decidedly bubblier feel than the fantasy drama, and it has an Ed Sheeran cameo. So it's a totally different film. Check out the trailer above, and brush up on your Beatles discography before the film drops on June 28!