Tom Hanks To Play Mister Rogers In Upcoming Biopic

Tom Hanks will play Fred Rogers in an upcoming biopic about the late children's TV icon. Rogers created the long-running show Mister Rogers' Neighborhood, which ran from the '60s through the early 2000s. Rogers passed away in 2003 at the age of 74.

According to Entertainment Weekly, the new film will focus on the relationship between Rogers and journalist Tom Junod. He wrote a profile of Rogers in 1998 for Esquire.

TriStar Pictures is producing the movie, which is titled You Are My Friend. The film company describes it as a stirring, emotional movie where a "cynical journalist begrudgingly accepts an assignment to write a profile piece on the beloved icon and finds his perspective on life transformed."

TriStar president Hannah Minghella said the film wants to "remind us all of the transformative power of kindness and respect to heal and to unite."

Directing the film is Marielle Heller (Diary of a Teenage Girl) off a script from Transparent writers Micah Fitzerman-Blue and Noah Harpster. No release date has been set.

"I am so inspired by the teachings of Fred Rogers and as a human I am in awe of his life's work," Heller said. "I can't wait to bring his story to the public and be a part of such a thoughtful, smart group of people who are all coming together to make this film, which truly feels to me like an antidote to our very fractured culture."

This isn't the first Mister Rogers movie, as the documentary Won't You Be My Neighbor? premiered at Sundance recently. As for Hanks, he recently starred in Steven Spielberg's The Post, which is nominated for Best Picture this year at the Academy Awards.