Tom Hanks is set to take on Honest Abe.
The Oscar-winning performer will portray former President Abraham Lincoln in Lincoln in the Bardo, a feature adaptation of author George Saunders’ best-selling 2017 novel.
Duke Johnson is directing the film that is a hybrid of live-action and stop-motion animation. Hanks will appear as a live-action version of the 16th U.S. President for the film that is currently in production in London.
Johnson, who co-directed the Oscar-nominated 2015 animated feature Anomalisa, helms Lincoln in the Bardo from a script by Saunders. Lincoln in the Bard centers on Lincoln’s relationship with his recently deceased 11-year-old son Willie Lincoln.
Producers include Hanks and Gary Goetzman for Playtone, along with Johnson, Devon Young Rabinowitz and Paul Young for Starburns Industries. Saunders, Steven Shareshian and Aaron Mitchell are executive producing. Saunders’ acclaimed novel won the 2017 Booker Prize.
Hanks’ recent features include The Phoenician Scheme, Here and Freaky Tales. He reprises his voice role of cowboy Woody in Pixar’s Toy Story 5, set for release this summer from Disney, and also stars in director Aaron Schneider’s forthcoming World War II drama Greyhound 2.
Lincoln’s legacy has remained in the forefront of popular culture in recent years. Hamish Linklater played the commander in chief in the 2024 Apple TV+ series Manhunt, while the Broadway play Oh, Mary!, a comedic examination of the politician’s personal life, won multiple Tony Awards last year.
Hanks is represented by CAA and Greenberg Glusker.
Deadline was first to report on Hanks’ casting.
