Lincoln in the Bardo: Tom Hanks Is Playing Abraham Lincoln — And They’re Actually Related

This is one of those casting announcements that just feels right the moment you hear it. Two-time Oscar winner Tom Hanks has been cast to play President Abraham Lincoln in director Duke Johnson’s upcoming film Lincoln in the Bardo — and in a twist that could only happen in Hollywood, Hanks and Lincoln are actually distant relatives.

Based on George Saunders’ Booker Prize-winning 2017 novel, this is shaping up to be one of the most emotionally ambitious films in years.

Lincoln in the Bardo — Key Details at a Glance

The Story: Lincoln’s Most Personal Chapter

Unlike Steven Spielberg’s 2012 biopic Lincoln — which focused on the Civil War and the abolition of slavery — Lincoln in the Bardo takes an entirely different, deeply intimate approach. The story unfolds during a single agonising night in 1862, as a grieving Abraham Lincoln visits the grave of his 11-year-old son Willie, who has just died.

In certain spiritual traditions, the bardo is the liminal space between death and what comes next — and the film uses this surreal setting to explore grief, love, and the extraordinary human capacity to endure loss. The narrative unfolds through an ensemble of characters, both living and dead, historical and invented.

Director Duke Johnson blends live-action with stop-motion animation — a technique he perfected with Anomalisa — to bring Saunders’ acclaimed novel to life in a way no straightforward drama ever could.

Why Tom Hanks Was Born for This Role

Hanks is already a distant relative of Lincoln — both sharing the family tree through Lincoln’s mother, Nancy Hanks. Beyond the blood connection, Hanks brings something no other actor quite can: America’s most trusted face delivering its most heartbreaking story. He’s played real-life figures before — Walt Disney, Chesley Sullenberger — but this marks his first time portraying a US President on screen.

He also serves as producer through his Playtone label alongside Gary Goetzman, while Saunders himself serves as executive producer and screenwriter, ensuring the source material’s soul remains intact.

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