When the Coronavirus pandemic first spread across the world, AppleTV+ stepped in to acquire the distribution rights to Tom Hanks‘ World War II drama Greyhound, and the actor admitted that he wasn’t too happy with the idea of his movies bypassing theaters entirely and getting sent straight to streaming.
So, it’s with a hint of irony that the same platform has now picked up Finch, formerly known as Bios, to make it the third Hanks effort heading directly to streaming in the last year after Greyhound and Paul Greengrass’ Western News of the World, which was rolled out internationally and exclusively on Netflix.
The high concept sci-fi was developed and produced by Universal, but they’ve now decided to sell it off after a bidding war that was described as highly competitive. AppleTV+ are planning on releasing Finch later this year, and it could be set up as a potential awards season contender. It’s the second feature-length effort by director Miguel Sapochnik, who’s no stranger to science fiction or fantasy having helmed episodes of Fringe, Falling Skies, Under the Dome, Revolution and Altered Carbon, as well as winning an Emmy for Game of Thrones‘ “Battle of the Bastards.”
Hanks plays the title role, an inventor and one of the last few surviving humans left on the planet that lives in an underground bunker, who builds an android to ensure that his dog is looked after when he’s gone. The trio of man, canine and robot then head on a perilous journey across the post-apocalyptic American West as Finch seeks to teach his new creation what it means to be alive.
A sci-fi Western that sees Tom Hanks and a dog going on a road trip with an android sounds fascinating, and it should at the very least provide another powerhouse central performance from the screen legend when it lands before 2021 is out.