A new image of Tom Hanks as Mister Rogers in A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood celebrates the late Fred Rogers’ birthday. Last year, acclaimed documentary Won’t You Be My Neighbor? explored the enduring cultural impact of beloved television program Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood, and now the iconic figure is getting the traditional Hollywood biopic treatment. The aptly titled A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood is directed by Marielle Heller (Can You Ever Forgive Me?) and is slated for release right in the thick of awards season this November. With Hanks playing Rogers, the film is already generating some Oscar buzz.

A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood revolves around the dynamic between Rogers and cynical journalist Lloyd Vogel (Matthew Rhys), who is tasked with writing a magazine profile on Rogers. Their interactions helped change Vogel’s (based on Tom Junod) perspective on life. This dynamic was teased in a recently released still image from the film, but as Sony continues to rev up the marketing campaign, they’ve put the spotlight solely on Hanks.

In honor of what would have been Rogers’ 91st birthday, Sony released a new image (hat tip EW) of Hanks on the upcoming film’s set. The picture seems to be taken from Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood’s opening, where Rogers would change from dress shoes to sneakers. Check out the photo for yourself in the space below:

Obviously, the image doesn’t reveal much in terms of plot details, but it does work to illustrate the great work done by Heller and her team to recreate the Mister Rogers set. Surely a major selling point of the film will be the nostalgia many have for the program, and it’ll be fun to see Hanks play out some Mister Rogers moments that fans know and love. The actor’s costume is also very much on-point, as he’s sporting Rogers’ trademark red sweater and khaki pants. Sony knows they have something special here with Hanks, and in these early stages of promotion they’re trying to drum up serious hype for his performance. Hanks surprisingly hasn’t been nominated for an Oscar since 2000, but perhaps he’ll find himself in the Academy’s good graces this time. Won’t You Be My Neighbor? was snubbed in the Best Documentary category this year, so voters might look to recognize Rogers via this project.

Since there are still eight months remaining until A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood premieres (as of this writing), it’ll likely still be some time before a trailer is unveiled. While Sony has high hopes for it (particularly on the awards circuit), there’s no need to launch an advertising campaign in earnest at this point in time. The images are getting the job done in regards to generating excitement, and A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood is already one of 2019’s most anticipated films

More: Screen Rant’s 2020 Best Picture Predictions

Source: EW

  • You Are My Friend Release Date: 2019-11-22