While there have been endless movies about the Second World War, the period in Germany leading up to the conflict has been covered a lot less, except for a few movies like Cabaret. Now it seems Tom Hanks wants to delve into that era with In The Garden Of Beasts.
THR reports that Hanks is eyeing the lead role in Universal’s adaptation of Erik Larson’s nonfiction best-seller and that he and Gary Goetzman will produce the film via the duo’s Playtone banner.
The book tells the true tale of William Dodd, the United States’ reluctant and mild-mannered ambassador to Berlin in 1933, as well as his daughter Martha, a vivacious socialite who had romantic affairs with a Gestapo official and a Soviet spy. Dodd and his family at first naively navigated life in Nazi Germany (Dodd’s daughter was excited when Adolf Hitler kissed her hand) but they slowly gained awareness of the mounting brutality around them.
No director or screenwrite is attached at the moment, so don’t expect to see the film for a while yet.