After memorable roles set in World War II like 1998’s Saving Private Ryan and 2015’s Bridge of Spies, Tom Hanks has been set to return to the era for Greyhound this summer. In an unexpected move from Sony Pictures, the studio has set the film on course for the streaming high seas instead of pushing its planned June theatrical date back.
In the Greyhound auction bid, Apple TV+ won out the battleship drama for a giant $70 million deal, per Deadline. The high-profile movie Tom Hanks wrote and stars in will premiere on the streaming site in over 100 countries for Apple TV+’s biggest move yet. A date has not yet been set for Greyhound’s debut. It was initially set to come out in mid-June, just in time for Father’s Day outings.
The movie follows the true story of Ernest Krause, the first-time commander of a Navy destroyer who must lead 37 Allied ships during the Battle of the Atlantic in defense against German U-boats. Greyhound is directed by Get Low’s Aaron Schneider and based on a 1955 C.S. Forester novel called The Good Shepherd. The movie is Hanks’ third feature he has starred in and written after 1996’s That Thing You Do! and 2011’s Larry Crowne. Check out the Greyhound trailer below:
Apple TV+ launched back in November with early originals such as the Golden-Globe nominated The Morning Show and Dickinson starring Hailee Steinfeld. The streaming platform is investing $6 billion in original content and had already surpassed Hulu and Disney+ in subscribers in early 2020. Apple is certainly looking to draw more eyeballs on its service with the acquisition of its first major studio film.
The platform recently made bids for smaller films from early 2020’s Sundance Film Festival and is backing Sofia Coppola’s next collaboration with Bill Murray for On The Rocks, also starring Rashida Jones, Jenny Slate and Marlon Wayans. Apple TV+ recently found success with its show Defending Jacob starring Chris Evans and debuted a movie with Anthony Mackie and Samuel L. Jackson called The Banker.
Since movie theaters closed back in March, the majority of films on the calendar have been pushed back or delayed. A few exceptions have been moved to streaming including Trolls World Tour, last week’s straight-to-VOD release of Scoob! and the coming debut of Artemis Fowl on Disney+. Paramount’s The Lovebirds is premiering on Netflix instead of theaters this Friday.
Tom Hanks has recently been an especially big name in the public eye since he and his wife Rita Wilson were the first major names to test positive for COVID-19. After catching the virus while on the set of Baz Luhrmann’s Elvis Presley biopic over in Australia, the couple isolated overseas before safely recovering and returning to their home in Los Angeles.
Stay tuned here on CinemaBlend for more updates on Greyhound’s release date and other streaming titles.
