Development

The film is about music entrepreneur Brian Epstein.

Midas Man is a biographical film about Brian Epstein based on a story and screenplay by Brigit Grant. It is a British co-production between Studio POW and Trevor Beattie Films. It is also produced by Er Dong Pictures, who will distribute the film in China. In July 2020, Jonas Åkerlund was announced to direct.^[1] In an interview with The Guardian, Åkerlund said he had been researching Epstein for almost two years. He also said he had talked with people who knew Epstein, including Gerry Marsden of Gerry and the Pacemakers: "He told me stories that haven't been printed yet and that we'll introduce into our film."^[2] In April 2021, Jacob Fortune-Lloyd was cast in the lead role as Brian Epstein.^[3] In July, the film's distribution rights in the U.K. and Ireland were sold to Signature Entertainment.^[4] In the following months, Emily Watson, Eddie Marsan and Omari Douglas were cast in September,^[5] and Rosie Day, Lukas Gage, Charley Palmer Rothwell and Bill Milner were cast in October.^[6][7]

Filming

The planned 12-week shoot began in Liverpool on 11 October 2021.^[8] Principal photography, however, was put on hiatus for three weeks after Åkerlund left the production in November. An issued statement made the claim that filming would continue that same month in London and move to Los Angeles, California, in early January.^[9] Sara Sugarman was hired as Åkerlund's replacement, with no reshoots expected to take place, and filming scheduled to start again soon.^[10][11] In late November, Jay Leno, Jonah Lees, Blake Richardson, Leo Harvey Elledge, Campbell Wallace and Adam Lawrence joined the cast and a first-look image was released featuring several cast members at Abbey Road Studios.^[12][11] An issued statement said that after a three month break, filming would begin in the U.S. in late January 2022 before returning to the U.K.^[13]

Filming ended up being on hiatus for over a year, before finally taking place in May 2023 in Blackpool.^[14] The following month, it was reported that Joe Stephenson had taken over as director from Sugarman, who reportedly left due to scheduling issues and creative differences.^[15] Principal photography was completed by Stephenson. It was also reported that Eddie Izzard, Ed Speleers, Darci Shaw, and Milo Parker had joined the cast; Speleers and Shaw replaced Lukas Gage and Rosie Day, respectively.^[16]