Australian Nick Milligan claims the new trailer for Danny Boyle film Yesterday has a similar plot to that of his own novel ‘Enormity’.

Boyle’s film Yesterday is due for release on June 28th this year. The British musical comedy film, directed by Danny Boyle, has a screenplay by Richard Curtis and a story by Jack Barth. With the likes of Himesh Patel, Lily James, Kate McKinnon, and Ed Sheeran set to star in the film, Universal Pictures this week released the first trailer.

The synopsis for Boyle’s film reads: “Jack Malik (Patel) is a struggling musician unable to catch a big break. During a worldwide blackout, he is hit by a bus and after awakening, he discovers that he is the only person in the world who appears to remember the songs of the Beatles. Jack plagiarises their songs and becomes a musical star.”



Milligan, whose self-published novel follows a character named Jack, depicts the tale of Jack travelling into deep space and lands on a planet similar to Earth. On this new planet, Jack begins to notice difference – one of which is that the people on this planet have never heard of The Beatles.

Himesh Patel in the new film.

Explaining his book a little further, Milligan said: “He passes off classic music as his own material, including that of The Beatles, and the story then explores the consequences of that lie,” in an interview with Guardian Australia.

He added: “The central premise and general exploration of the concept are the same. Both Jacks experience inner turmoil in regard to the lie they’re living and perpetuating.

“They’re both morality tales. Both are satires on the music industry. And the trajectory to superstardom, with Jack performing to a crowded stadium etc, appears to be in both.”

The author did concede that the tone of Boyle’s effort differs from his novel, explaining that the film offers a “family-friendly” experience while his novel is “far more dark and twisted”.

“It’s probably just a horrible coincidence and they mean me no disrespect,” Milligan concluded.

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