Sam Mendes has announced the cast for his colossal four-film Beatles extravaganza: Harris Dickinson as John, Paul Mescal as Paul, Barry Keoghan as Ringo and Joseph Quinn as George – and to tumultuous acclaim he brought his Fab Four on stage at the CinemaCon event in Las Vegas, a now well-established affair in the film world, incidentally, satirised in a forthcoming episode of Seth Rogen’s TV comedy The Studio.

I’m sorry to say, however, that Sam has almost entirely ignored the casting suggestions that I made in February last year. For what this is worth, I went with Leo Woodall as Paul, Finn Wolfhard as George, Harry Melling as Ringo and Barry Keoghan as John (though Barry got Ringo in the end). But I like to think that Sam Mendes and his producer Pippa Harris were thinking on more or less the same lines as me. Interestingly, there are no American actors doing Brit accents – just the kind of well-trained British or Irish actors who can fabricate perfect American accents for American roles elsewhere.

But wait. No Merseyside actors! Without wishing to get stuck into an identity politics controversy, this could be an issue. So please allow me to suggest a second, concurrent four-film special to run alongside this tetralogy (surely Apple or Netflix can pay for it) which Sam can direct in his spare time, all about four people from the Beatles Cinematic Universe, with a strict Liverpool-only casting rule.

Stephen Graham in Jim, the story of Paul McCartney’s dad

There can hardly be a more respected actor anywhere in the world right now than Stephen Graham, who can portray Jim McCartney, father of Paul and Mike (this could be Chris Mason from TV’s Riverdale), a formidable and demanding personality who loved music. This standalone film will show his early manhood playing in a jazz band with Paul’s uncle Jack (played by Paul McGann), his meet-cute with nurse Mary (I’m thinking Amelia Warner) and his encouragement of young Paul – also big scenes such as meeting Princess Margaret (played here by Liverpool actor Emily Fairn) at the premiere of A Hard Day’s Night.

Jodie Comer in Mo, the story of Maureen Starkey Tigrett

Jodie Comer can pull out the stops here, playing Ringo’s fiery first wife Mo, the convent school-educated manicurist and hairdresser who was a Beatles fan from the Cavern days before she was a Beatles spouse – getting into face-clawing scraps with other jealous Beatles fans. She gets pregnant at 18 and Brian Epstein (a crossover cameo for David Morrissey) arranges for Ringo and Mo to get married. There’s a scene in which Frank Sinatra (played here by Ian Hart) records a special version of The Lady Is a Tramp for Mo’s birthday.

David Morrissey in Brian, the story of the Beatles’ troubled manager Brian Epstein

Morrissey can play Brian Epstein, starting in Liverpool where the family had a music shop – and where Jim McCartney once bought a piano (Stephen Graham can have a crossover cameo here). In London, Brian gets arrested for cottaging, drops out of Rada and finally moves into the music business where he discovers the Beatles and shows his inner steel by sacking Pete Best and finally we see Epstein’s terrible loneliness and depression.

Peter Serafinowicz in Ed, the story of Ed Sullivan

Liverpool-born Peter Serafinowicz can portray the American legend Ed Sullivan, who was a nationally syndicated newspaper columnist before he invented his top-rated TV show and it was his destiny to be for ever associated with the Beatles, as the man who introduced them to the American public and gave them global fame. Before this, a car crash and hospitalisation had meant that he had missed out on introducing Elvis personally on his show and so he was determined to be associated with the Beatles. The movie would show his somewhat Trumpian temper and grudges against other bands such as Buddy Holly and the Crickets, but also his sentimental attachment to the Fab Four.