The cast of “Lincoln in the Bardo” just got a whole lot bigger. Deadline reports exclusively that Willem Dafoe, Jonathan Bailey and Peter Dinklage have boarded the voice cast of Starburns Industries’ adaptation of George Saunders’ New York Times bestseller and 2017 Booker Prize winner.
The trio joins two-time Oscar winner Tom Hanks, who was previously announced to play Abraham Lincoln in the live-action portion of the Duke Johnson-directed film. Saunders adapted his own novel for the screen, and the project blends stop-motion animation with live action in a way that feels tailor-made for its strange, ghostly source material.
A Ghostly Ensemble
Each new voice brings a distinct character to the bardo. Dafoe will play Reverend Everly Thomas, the ghost of a minister who died believing he was heaven-bound, only to discover otherwise. Bailey voices Roger Bevins, a young gay man who took his own life after a failed love affair and instantly regretted it. Dinklage rounds out the trio as Hans Vollman, a ghost fixated on reuniting with his much younger wife.
“Lincoln in the Bardo explores one of the most intimate moments of Lincoln’s life, centering on his relationship with his recently deceased 11-year-old son.”
The story mixes history and imagination, weaving through an ensemble of characters — living and dead, historical and invented — to examine love, empathy and the human capacity for connection in the face of unimaginable grief. It’s an ambitious, unusual property, and the creative team behind it is equally unusual: Playtone produces, and the whole thing carries Starburns’ offbeat indie DNA.
Why It Matters
“Lincoln in the Bardo” has been one of the most talked-about literary adaptations in development, and stacking an ensemble like this suggests Hollywood is taking Saunders’ experimental novel seriously. For Hanks, it’s a chance at one of the most dramatically rich roles of his career, while the animated ghosts give Dafoe, Bailey and Dinklage showcase material far from their usual live-action parts. Expect this one to be a major awards-season talking point whenever it arrives.
