Tom Hanks To Play Hero Pilot Sully Sullenberger In New Clint Eastwood Film 

Captain Chesley “Sully” Sullenberger is letting someone else man the aircraft for a change, at least onscreen – two-time Oscar winner Tom Hanks!

Hanks is circling a deal with Warner Bros. to star in director Clint Eastwood’s upcoming biopic about the acclaimed pilot, Deadline reported on Thursday. The studio announced on June 2 that Eastwood would helm the project, based upon Sullenberger’s best-selling memoir “Highest Duty: My Search For What Really Matters.”

Sullenberger shot to fame in 2009 when he successfully landed a commercial airliner on the Hudson River after a dual engine failure, saving all 155 passengers and crew members on board. The event, since dubbed the “Miracle on the Hudson,” cemented Sullenberger as an American hero.

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The film marks another chance for Eastwood to tell the story of a real-life figure, after his Chris Kyle biopic “American Sniper” snagged six Oscar nominations and became the top-grossing movie of 2014. Hanks has also been partial to true stories throughout his decorated career, most recently starring as Walt Disney in “Saving Mr. Banks” and the title merchant mariner in “Captain Phillips.”

Production on the untitled project is set to begin later this year. 

— Erin Biglow