It’s been a while since we last saw Tom Hanks leading the charge of a World War II movie; 1998’s Saving Private Ryan, to be precise, which still ranks as one of the most well-known entries on his resume. Well, now Hanks has jumped back into this devastating conflict to operate on a different kind of battleground, as you’ll see in the first trailer for Greyhound below.
First announced back in September 2016, Greyhound is inspired by true events and sees Tom Hanks playing U.S. Navy Commander Ernest Krause, who is sent on his first wartime assignment during the midway point of World War II, specifically in the midst of the Battle of the Atlantic, the war’s longest continuous military campaign. Krause must lead a convoy of 37 Allied ships into the North Atlantic to defend merchant ships against German U-boats.
Tom Hanks has never been one to shy away from a period piece, and as shown in the Greyhound trailer, while Ernest Krause is out of his element in wartime and battling self-doubt, he’s determined to lead the USS Keeling, radio codenamed Greyhound, and the rest of the ships under his command past this assault. Or as Krause himself puts it, they’ll “rain hell down from on high.” I like the sound of that.
Joining Tom Hanks in Greyhound are Elisabeth Shue, Stephen Graham, Manuel Garcia-Rulfo, Rob Morgan, Karl Glusman and Tom Brittney, among others. Greyhound is one of three movies Hanks has coming out this year, with BIOS and News of the World following in October and December, respectively. He’s also on board to play Colonel Tom Parker in Baz Luhrmann’s Elvis, which will release in October 2021.
First announced back in 2016, not only is Tom Hanks starring in Greyhound, he also wrote the script, which is based off C.S. Forester’s 1955 novel The Good Shepherd. Aaron Schneider directed Greyhound, with this being his second time helming a feature-length film following 2009’s Get Low. Sony Pictures snagged the distribution rights.
Needless to say that when filming a World War II movie set at sea, there’s only so much one can due to replicate the realism of sea warfare from the mid-20th century. Still, the Greyhound crew did conduct some pre-production filming aboard the HMCS Montréal, and a portion of principal photography took place on USS Kidd, a World War II-era destroyer that’s now a museum ship located in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.
Previously set for release on May 8 (and May 22, 2019 long before that), Greyhound will now open in theaters on June 12, the same day that the new Candyman arrives. Don’t forget to also look through our 2020 release schedule to learn what other movies are coming out later this year.
