Tom Hanks is no stranger to World War II films. Starting in 1998 with Saving Private Ryan, Hanks developed a special relationship with the subject matter, continuing to work on World War II material in one way or another during his career.
After Saving Private Ryan, which is hailed to be one of he best World War II movies of all time, he then went on to produce Band of Brothers alongside Steven Spielberg. They put together a really compelling adaptation of the book by the same name which at its end earned an Emmy as well as a few Golden Globes.
Hanks to portray âa career officer given command of a Navy destroyer â named âGreyhoundâ â who has to deal with combat enemies and his own self doubtsâŠâ -Variety
Although not as popular yet equally good was The Pacific which was also produced by the duo. Focusing on the lives of Marines from various regiments of the 1st Marine Division, this gave audiences a real hard look at the turmoils of fighting in the Pacific Theater.
Now, Hankâs moving on to something quite different. The war at sea.
Writing and producing Greyhound, Hanks is going to tell the story of HMS Greyhound (HO5). A G-class destroyer of the Royal Navy, she partook in various crucial missions during the war including the Dunkirk evacuation, for which a separate movie is being made as well.
This is all the information thatâs available for the time being, however, weâll keep you posted as new facts come to light. One thingâs for sure, with Tom Hanks behind the pen and in front of the screen, this will be one epic ride from beginning to end.
I thought he was doing the Mighty Eight story for HBO
Very cool. Was actually wondering for some time when Hanks and/or Spielberg were going to focus on the Navy in one of their movies. Been wondering also whether theyâd do one on the Air Force as well. Would like to see those two do a navy movie on the naval battles around Savo Island near Guadalcanal. That would be something to see in FX.
Yes, I thought that The Mighty Eighth was the next project. Perhaps Greyhound is to follow.
Iâm currently reading Hornfisherâs The Last Stand of the Tin Can Sailors right now, which is amazing. The actions of the destroyer crews in the Battle of Samar would make an fantastic movie, if not the whole of the Battle of Leyte Gulf.
Read that one myself a while back. It is indeed a superb read. There is a lot of great history out there on Pacific naval battles which IMHO really doesnât get the spotlight like D-Day or Battle of the Bulge, Battle of Britain etc. One of my favorite old movies about this was an old John Wayne and Kirk Douglas movie where the naval battles were done quite well IMHO.
Yeah, I seem to recall it was that indeed. Still, I remember it really looked good for itâs time. Been a while since I viewed it. I would love Spielberg and Hanks do an HBO series on the Battle of Savo or anything naval in the pacific. With todayâs computer animation, they could really do justice to those tin cans and the battles they partook in.
