Tom Hanks cast as lead in Nazi Germany drama ‘In The Garden of the Beasts’

Tom Hanks is looking to rebound after Larry Crowne slumped at the box office over the summer with a new drama based on Erik Larson’s novel In The Garden of the Beats: Love, Terror and an American Family in Hitler's Berlin that Universal Pictures will produce.

Ace Show Biz reports that Larson’s novel follows the true story of William Dodd, the US ambassador to Germany in 1933, when Hitler and the Nazis came into power. Dodd and his family initially get caught up in the romantic and exciting atmosphere of Berlin at the time, that is, until they learn of Hitler’s true and violent intentions.

Hanks is looking at the project as a star vehicle for himself, according to The Hollywood Reporter. The book has been optioned by Universal so that Hanks and Gary Goetzman can produce it under their Playtone banner.

Larson, whose novel was published in May and became a best-seller, is currently developing a history with Hollywood, as Leonardo DiCaprio is currently working on an adaptation of The Devil and the White City.

As for Hanks, this is just another WWII-era project to put on his resume. Hanks, who starred in Steven Spielberg’s classic Saving Private Ryan, also co-produced Band of Brothers and The Pacific under the Playtone banner. His next film is Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close, which opens on Jan. 20.