Tom Hanks has a long history with Robert Zemeckis. The two have collaborated on wildly different projects, from the live-action Cast Away and Forrest Gump to the motion-capture animation of The Polar Express. As the two talk to the media to help promote their new films Flight (for Zemeckis) and Cloud Atlas for Hanks, we’re learning that they have a new idea that likely will bring them back together sometime very soon.
Hanks spoke with The Wrap and mentioned that he and Zemeckis plan on moving forward with the science-fiction/space-themed Major Matt Mason. Universal holds the domestic rights, and the movie is being shopped to potential buyers, the trade site reports.
Hanks says that he came up with the story while working on Larry Crowne and recruited Graham Yost (Speed) to help him polish the story of an astronaut who is helping a group survive an adventure at a moon-based space station. The character of Major Matt Mason is based on a very popular space toy that hit the shelves in 1966, right before man walked on the moon.
So the voice of Woody is going to get to play a space ranger, after all.
Hanks confirmed that he’ll star in the film, and Zemeckis will direct. The last time Zemeckis turned his eyes to the cosmos, we were treated to the think-piece that was Contact. I’m intrigued by the quote Yost gave to Reuters about the story Hanks cooked up, saying there are “no bad guys … no aliens. Nothing like that. It’s just, ‘Can you survive?’” which means this could be Contact meets Apollo 13, which sounds fine by us.
