Tom Hanks' new sci-fi movieFinchwill debut on Apple TV+ on Friday, Nov. 5, it was announced Thursday by Apple, which also unveiled an intriguing first image from the film.
Finchis billed as a moving adventure about a man, a robot and a dog who form an unlikely family before the man sets out on a quest to ensure that his beloved canine companion will be cared for after he’s gone. Hanks plays the title character, a robotics engineer who’s one of the few survivors of a cataclysmic solar event that has left the world a wasteland. As a result, Finch has spent the last decade living in an underground bunker where he has built a world of his own that he shares with his dog, Goodyear. He creates a robot – who quickly names himself Jeff (Caleb Landry-Jones) – to watch over Goodyear when he no longer can, though the two don’t get along at first. As the trio embarks on a perilous journey into a desolate American West, Finch strives to show Jeff the joy and wonder of what it means to be alive, though their road trip is paved with many challenges as they try to navigate the dangers of the new world.
Miguel Sapochnik(Game of Thrones) directedFinchfrom an original screenplay by first-time scribeCraig LuckandIvor Powell, the latter of whom served as an associate producer on the sci-fi classicsBlade RunnerandAlien.Finchwas produced byKevin Misher,Jack Rapke,Jacqueline Levineand Powell, whileRobert Zemeckisexecutive produced alongside Sapochnik and Luck, as well asAndy Berman,Adam MerimsandJeb Brody, plusFrank SmithandNaia Cucukovof Walden Media.
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Finchmarks the second Hanks movie to be acquired by Apple followingGreyhound, and I’ve been waiting for Apple to announce a new release date, as this film was still on the calendar for Aug. 20 and there hasn’t even been a trailer released yet. This movie was originally going to go out through Universal and if it was a serious awards contender, I doubt that studio would’ve let it go elsewhere, but you never know these days, when it sometimes makes more sense to just sell a movie to a streamer and make a tidy little profit rather than risk a small fortune on a theatrical marketing campaign.
Apple will surely be mounting an awards campaign for its latest releaseCODA, which comes out on Friday after winning all the top prizes at Sundance earlier this year. It’s the best film I’ve seen all year, so maybe Apple’s acquisition execs deserve the benefit of the doubt when it comes toFinch, which does boast two-time Oscar winner Hanks, after all. The streaming giant will also haveJoel Coen’s Shakespeare adaptationThe Tragedy of MacbethstarringDenzel WashingtonandFrances McDormand, so expect that to be a formidable contender as well. Meanwhile, 2022 bringsMartin Scorsese’sKillers of the Flower Moon, theWill SmithmovieEmancipation, theMahershala AlifilmSwan Songand theJulianne MoorethrillerSharper. That’s a strong slate, and I have a feeling thatFinchwill make me cry like so many other Hanks movies, fromBig,PhiladelphiaandForrest GumptoCast AwayandCaptain Phillips.
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