Oscar winners Joel and Ethan Coen have boarded Steven Spielberg‘s Cold War thriller starring Tom Hanks to do some additional writing on the project, an individual with knowledge of the film told TheWrap.
Matt Charman wrote the script, which will find Hanks playing James Donovan, a prominent American attorney enlisted by the CIA during the Cold War to slip behind the Iron Curtain and negotiate the release of Gary Powers, a pilot captured when his U-2 spy plane was shot down over Russia.
Also read: Steven Spielberg’s Next Movie Will Be Tom Hanks’ Cold War Thriller; ‘The BFG’ to Follow (Exclusive)
The Cold War thriller is shaping up to be Spielberg’s next movie, as DreamWorks expects to start production in September.
Marc Platt is producing the film, which DreamWorks executive Jonathan Eirich will oversee on behalf of the studio.
Once Spielberg wraps the Cold War thriller, he’s slated to direct DreamWorks’ adaptation of Roald Dahl’s beloved novel “The BFG.”
Also read: ‘Fargo’ Boss Noah Hawley on the ‘Hubris or Foolishness’ of Adapting the Coen Brothers
The Coens won Oscars for writing, directing and producing “No Country for Old Men,” and they also won an Oscar for writing “Fargo.” The duo recently wrote the Colin Firth-Cameron Diaz comedy “Gambit,” and they also have a writing credit on Angelina Jolie’s upcoming drama “Unbroken,” which Universal will release on Christmas Day.
The Coens, who are currently working on the showbiz comedy “Hail Caesar,” are represented by UTA.