Tom Hanks is set to portray Abraham Lincoln in Starburns Industries’ upcoming live-action/stop-motion hybrid film Lincoln in the Bardo.
It marks the first time the two-time Oscar winner will play a U.S. president, the 16th President of the United States in particular.
The project is based on George Saunders’ Booker Prize-winning novel.
It will be produced through Hanks’ Playtone banner alongside longtime partner Gary Goetzman.
Directed by Oscar nominee Duke Johnson (Anomalisa) and written by Saunders, the film will explore one of the most intimate chapters of Lincoln’s life: His grief following the death of his 11-year-old son.
Production is scheduled to take place in London, with Johnson, Paul Young, and Devon Young Rabinowitz producing for Starburns Industries.
Steven Shareshian, Aaron Mitchell, and Saunders will serve as executive producers.
The film marks the first project to move forward under Starburns’ new film fund announced earlier this month.
Hanks, represented by CAA and Greenberg Glusker, adds Lincoln to a roster of real-life figures he has portrayed including pilot Chesley “Sully” Sullenberger and Walt Disney.
