Tom Hanks, the two-time Oscar winner is set to play Abraham Lincoln in Lincoln in the Bardo, a live-action and stop-motion hybrid film from Starburns Industries.
The project adapts George Saunders’ acclaimed novel, and it’s shaping up to be one of the most creatively ambitious Lincoln films we’ve seen.
Hanks has portrayed real-life figures before, from pilot Chesley Sullenberger to Walt Disney, but he hasn’t tackled a U.S. President until now.
In this film, he’ll play the 16th President of the United States, the leader who abolished slavery and guided the nation through the Civil War. Production is slated to take place in London.
The film is based on Saunders’ New York Times bestseller and 2017 Booker Prize-winning novel. Saunders is adapting his own book for the screen, which should be great news for fans who connected with the novel’s distinct voice and emotional core.
Directing the film is Academy Award-nominated filmmaker Duke Johnson, best known for Anomalisa. What makes this project especially exciting is the format.
Lincoln in the Bardo blends live-action performances with stop-motion animation to tell an intimate and haunting story. The narrative centers on Lincoln’s grief following the death of his 11-year-old son. Through a chorus of voices, both historical and imagined, living and dead, the film explores love, empathy, and what it means to endure unimaginable loss.
Hanks won’t just star in the film. He’ll also produce through his Playtone banner alongside his longtime partner Gary Goetzman.
Known for pushing creative boundaries, Starburns seems like the perfect home for a story that exists somewhere between history and the supernatural.
Lincoln has been portrayed on screen many times, but this take is going to be different. Instead of focusing on speeches or battlefield strategy, the film zeroes in on a father mourning his child. That’s a powerful angle, and with Hanks stepping into the role, it’s hard not to be interesting in seeing how it turns out.
If everything clicks, Lincoln in the Bardo could end up being one of the most unique historical dramas in recent memory.
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