One of Hollywood’s most beloved actors is about to take on one of history’s most iconic figures, and the internet cannot stop talking about it. Two-time Oscar winner Tom Hanks has just been cast as President Abraham Lincoln in an upcoming film called Lincoln in the Bardo, based on the acclaimed Booker Prize-winning novel by author George Saunders, and the announcement has fans of both film and history genuinely buzzing. This marks the very first time Hanks has ever played a sitting U.S. president, adding another extraordinary chapter to a career already packed with legendary real-life portrayals. What makes this casting feel even more like destiny is the remarkable fact that Hanks and Lincoln are actually distant relatives on Lincoln’s maternal side, a connection that has absolutely delighted fans across the internet since the announcement dropped.
The film promises to be unlike anything audiences have seen before, blending live-action footage of Hanks as Lincoln with breathtaking stop-motion animation to bring the story to life in a completely original and visually stunning way. Rather than focusing on Lincoln’s legendary role as a wartime president who abolished slavery, this story zooms in on one of the most heartbreaking and deeply human moments of his life, his profound grief following the death of his eleven-year-old son Willie. Saunders is personally writing the screenplay, and the production is already underway in London with Oscar-nominated director Duke Johnson at the helm. Fans of Hanks and Lincoln lovers alike are already calling this one of the most eagerly anticipated films in years, with a creative combination that has all of Hollywood watching very closely.
Source: https://variety.com/2026/film/news/tom-hanks-abraham-lincoln-the-bardo-movie-1236670609/