Tom Hanks and Marielle Heller are feeling the 7-year itch, following their Oscar-nominated 2019 collaboration “A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood.” The director and star are plotting a reunion for a poignant baseball dramedy feature that’s already attracted multiple studio bidders, Variety has learned.
Hanks will star in an adaptation of the short story “The Comebacker,” with Heller to direct. Both Hanks and Heller will produce the film through their respective production labels. The source material is from Pulitzer Prize finalist Dave Eggers, whose works “A Hologram for the King” and “The Circle” both inspired films starring Hanks.
Rap supernova Bad Bunny and Oscar nominee Colman Domingo are eyeing roles in the project, sources said. While acquisition talks are active at studios across town, sources said Sony Pictures is in pole position to win the film thanks to an attractive offer and, of course, history, as Sony released “A Beautiful Day.”
“The Comebacker” is the first in a series of shorts by Eggers for a story collection titled “The Forgetters.” It follows a fading sports journalist named Lionel whose passion for his craft and his life is awakened by a pitcher called up from the minor leagues. The title refers to an injury the pitcher suffered, when a batter sent a ball back with brute force into the pitcher’s skull. After the injury, the pitcher exhibits unexpected behavior, including poetic speech that makes stories written by Hanks’ journalist resonate with readers across the country. The short story centers on the San Francisco Giants, but one source said the screenplay will revolve around the New York Mets.
It’s unclear what role Bad Bunny, aka Benito Antonio Martínez Ocasio, would take in the film. The Grammy winner is on a world tour through the end of July and timing for film production is unclear. At very least, the rapper’s interest would validate Hanks’ much-celebrated appearance at a Bad Bunny show in Australia in February. Domingo’s involvement is similarly at the “interested” stage. Reps for both did not immediately return requests for comment.
