EXCLUSIVE: We can tell you that Willem Dafoe, Jonathan Bailey and Peter Dinklage have boarded the voice cast of Starburns Industries’ Lincoln in the Bardo, based on George Saunders’ New York Times bestseller and 2017 Booker Prize winner.
Deadline broke the news that two-time Oscar winner Tom Hanks is playing Abraham Lincoln in the live-action portion of the Duke Johnson-directed pic.
Saunders adapted his own novel for the screen for the hybrid stop-motion animation/live-action title.
Lincoln in the Bardo explores one of the most intimate moments of Lincoln’s life, centering on his relationship with his recently deceased 11-year-old son. The feature mixes history and imagination in a story that unfolds through an ensemble of characters – living and dead, historical and invented – to explore themes of love, empathy and the human capacity for connection in the face of unimaginable grief.
Dafoe will play Reverend Everly Thomas, the ghost of a minister who died believing he would go to heaven, but, to his dismay, 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 voicing Hans Vollman, a ghost obsessed with his dream of being reunited with his much younger wife.
Four-time Oscar nominee Dafoe’s credits include animated films Finding Nemo, Fantastic Mr. Fox and The Boy and the Heron, as well as At Eternity’s Gate, The Florida Project, Shadow of the Vampire and the Oscar-winning pic Platoon. He is repped by WME, The Artists Partnership and Circle Management.
Emmy-nominated Bailey’s credits include the Wicked franchise, Jurassic World: Rebirth, the limited series Fellow Travelers and the Netflix hit Bridgerton. Next he will star in the untitled John Lee Hancock film about Monsanto. He is repped by CAA, Conway van Gelder Grant, Anonymous Content and attorneys at Hansen Jacobson Teller.
Four-time Emmy winner Dinklage’s credits include the upcoming Black Bear title Wicker, Roofman, director Joe Wright’s Cyrano and the HBO global phenomenon Game of Thrones. He is repped by CAA and attorneys at Jackoway Austen Tyerman.
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.
CAA Media Finance and WME Independent are handling sales at the upcoming Toronto Film Festival market.
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