(Image: Universal Pictures)
The cast for the film adaptation of the fantasy novel "Lincoln in the Bardo," starring Tom Hanks, has expanded with a new slate of A-list talent: Meryl Streep, Colman Domingo, Bill Hader, and Tom Waits have officially joined the project. This film marks the third major collaboration between Streep and Hanks, who previously co-starred in "The Post". Streep also starred in the "Mamma Mia!" franchise, which Hanks produced.
This announcement follows the recent casting of three other supporting actors: Willem Dafoe, Jonathan Bailey, and Peter Dinklage.
(Image: The New York Times)
The film is based on author George Saunders' 2017 debut novel. The fictional story centers on Abraham Lincoln's third son, Willie Lincoln, who died young from typhoid fever. In the graveyard, he encounters three ghosts who urge him not to linger in the mortal realm, but just as he decides to move on, a visit from his grieving father changes his mind.
The film will be directed by Duke Johnson, co-director of "Anomalisa," with Saunders himself adapting his novel for the screen. Production is scheduled to take place in London.
(Image: The Hollywood Reporter)
Dafoe, Bailey, and Dinklage are all set to portray ghosts. Dafoe will play Reverend Everly Thomas, a minister who was certain he would ascend to heaven but did not. Bailey is cast as Roger Bevins, a young gay man who died by suicide over a failed romance and was immediately filled with regret. Dinklage will portray Hans Vollman, a ghost fixated on reuniting with his young wife.
Domingo will voice Thomas Havens, also a ghost, who was a former slave seeking an alliance with Lincoln to alter history. Waits is cast as Jasper Randall, the ghost of a former ballroom performer and one of the demons trying to capture Willie. Hader will play two parts: Eddie Baron and a man who died before ever experiencing love. Streep is set to tackle four different roles, including an angel who guides lost souls from the bardo and a demon attempting to trap Willie in the cemetery forever.
The entire supporting cast will provide voice-only performances, as their characters will be realized through stop-motion animation. Only Tom Hanks will appear in a live-action role as Abraham Lincoln.