Tom Hanks will play Abraham Lincoln in the adaptation of Lincoln in the Bardo.
Peter Dinklage, Jonathan Bailey and Willem Dafoe have also boarded the film.
Duke Johnston is helming the hybrid pic.
Willem Dafoe, Jonathan Bailey and Peter Dinklage are joining the Tom Hanks-led adaptation of George Saunders' 2017 Booker-winning novel, Lincoln in the Bardo. As earlier reported, two-time Oscar winner Tom Hanks is playing Abraham Lincoln in the live-action section of the Duke Johnson-directed pic.
The adaptation of Lincoln in the Bardo will weave stop-motion animation and live action to trace one of the most intimate moments of Lincoln’s life, dwelling on his relationship with his recently deceased 11-year-old son. Blending history and imagination, the story unnravels through an unforgettable ensemble of characters — living and dead, historical and invented — to probe themes of love, empathy and the human capacity for connection in the face of unimaginable grief.
Lincoln in the Bardo Cast Details
Dafoe will play Reverend Everly Thomas, the ghost of a minister who died believing he would go to heaven, but, to his horror, found out otherwise. Bailey is voicing Roger Bevins, the ghost of a young gay man who took his own life over a failed love affair and instantly regretted it. Dinklage is essaying Hans Vollman, a ghost obsessed with his dream of being reunited with his much younger wife.
Saunders adapted his own novel for the screen for the hybrid stop-motion animation/live-action title. Filming is expected to take place in London next year. Bailey, an Emmy Award-nominated actor, has celebrated projects that include Wicked, Wicked: For Good, Jurassic World: Rebirth, limited series Fellow Travelers and Netflix series Bridgerton. A four-time Emmy Award winner, Dinklage is known for Wicker, Roofman, Joe Wright’s Cyrano and HBO’s Game of Thrones. Dafoe is a four-time Academy Award nominee with acclaimed projects such as Finding Nemo, Fantastic Mr. Fox and The Boy and the Heron, as well as At Eternity’s Gate, The Florida Project and The Witch,
Johnson, Paul Young and Devon Young Rabinowitz produce through Starburns Industries, alongside Hanks and Gary Goetzman producing for Playtone. Steven Shareshian, Aaron Mitchell and Saunders are executive producers.
