Steven Spielberg’s upcoming Cold War drama starring Tom Hanks may not have a title yet, but it just added a pair of celebrated, Oscar-winning writers to pen the latest draft of its screenplay.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, brothers Joel and Ethan Coen, who won Oscars for their No Country for Old Men and Fargo scripts, have joined the creative team for the untitled film. The Cold War story follows attorney James Donovan, who negotiated with the KGB for the release of spy plane pilot Gary Powers during the height of the Cold War. Donovan, who was an associate prosecutor at The Nuremburg Trials and was instrumental in drafting the legislation that established the Central Intelligence Agency, chronicled his experience with the trial of Gary Powers and its aftermath in the 1964 novel Strangers On A Bridge.
The recent addition of Hanks and now the Coen brothers to the project has led to speculation that Spielberg could be planning to make this his next directorial effort, with shooting expected to begin in September.
The Cold War thriller would mark the fourth big screen collaboration between Spielberg and Hanks, who previously worked together as director and star in Saving Private Ryan, The Terminal, and Catch Me If You Can. Hanks worked with the Coens previously on 2004’s The Ladykillers. With Spielberg expected to begin shooting The BFG — an adaptation of Roald Dahl’s children’s book — in early 2015, there’s likely just enough time to squeeze in an additional project between now and the start of the Dahl adaptation.
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