John Lennon survives his 1980 assassination attempt in the universe of “For All Mankind.” Every season of the series begins with a different montage of major events from the decade, including presidential elections and celebrity deaths. Season 2 nearly featured a different Easter egg involving The Beatles, but the co-creator of Apple TV’s alternate history show decided to change his plans.
During a 2021 interview with Inverse, Ronald D. Moore revealed that Season 2’s timeline originally included The Beatles getting back together following their breakup in 1970. “Well, John Lennon is alive in our 1983,” Moore said. “And at one point it wasn’t just going to be John Lennon out there doing stuff. There was going to be a whole Beatles reunion tour happening. And then I just realized once that happened, I’m going to start raising flags all over the place and I’m going to be getting calls from lawyers. So, I was like, let’s just do John Lennon.”
The Beatles’ reunion tour eventually happens in For All Mankind
While “For All Mankind” Season 2 leaves the aftermath of Lennon’s failed assassination attempt up to interpretation, Season 3 confirms that The Beatles’ reconvened and took the world by storm, opening their reunion tour in Chicago in 1987. Then, Season 4’s introductory montage reveals that Lennon headlined the Super Bowl XXXVI halftime show in 2002 as a solo artist.
Most recently, Season 5 briefly depicts Lennon performing alongside Jay-Z at the 2005 Grammys, where their collaboration on “The Grey Album” won album of the year. This Beatles Easter egg in “For All Mankind” is especially fascinating because “The Grey Album” — a blend of Jay-Z’s “The Black Album” and The Beatles’ “The White Album” released by producer Danger Mouse in 2004 — actually exists.
Following the conclusion of Season 5, the upcoming sixth and final season of “For All Mankind” should deliver even more historical deviations.
