His name was linked to a potential casting wish-list some time ago, and it has now been confirmed that Tom Hanks will star in Cloud Atlas .
The film will be based on the award-winning novel by David Mitchell (not of Mitchell and Webb infamy), with an ambitious plot featuring six interconnected stories that take place over hundreds of years, beginning in the nineteenth century.
There's currently no confirmation as to who Hanks will be playing, but Adam Ewing seems the most likely contender.
Unusually, the film will be co-directed (and co-written) by Tom Twyker ( Run Lola Run , Perfume: The Story of a Murderer ) and the Matrix -creating Wachowski siblings.
Perhaps three directing heads were considered essential for such an epic tale, but let's hope it's not a case of too many cooks and the inevitable spoilt broth.
Cloud Atlas is set to begin shooting in September, so expect more casting announcements soon.
