Award-winning American director Julie Taymor, who directed Frida and Titus and won awards for her work on The Lion King, will take charge.
Teenage actress Evan Rachel Wood, still just 17, who has starred alongside Al Pacino in the 2003 film smash Simone and The Missing starring Cate Blanchett, is believed to have scooped one of the leading roles.
Characters will be named after Beatles songs including Lucy, Martha, Jude, Michelle and Prudence.
A soundtrack for the film, produced by Revolution Studios, is being recorded this year in New York.
Producers from New York have already visited Liverpool and fell in love with the city during their trip.
Locations for the film are being considered including Stanley Dock, parts of the Albert Docks and selected cobbled streets.
