Directed by Marc Forster (Finding Neverland, Christopher Robin), ‘A Man Called Otto’ is based on Swedish author Fredrik Backman’s 2012 novel A Man Called Ove.
Here, Hanks plays Otto Anderson, a grumpy widower who strikes up an unlikely friendship with his new next-door neighbors.
In the first photos from the film, shared exclusively with PEOPLE, Hanks’ character stands beside Marisol (played by Mariana Treviño), the “quick-witted and very pregnant” neighbor he becomes friends with, ultimately turning “his world upside-down,” per a synopsis.
“The way you treat your own neighbors, the way people can come together in any time of crisis happens over and over again.
Anytime there’s a tornado, a flood or something that hits a very particular community, everybody comes out and helps,” Hanks tells PEOPLE.
“A Man Called Otto is a movie about community and a movie about family,” he adds.
Both Hanks and his wife Rita Wilson are producers on the new movie, which also stars Rachel Keller and Manuel Garcia-Rulfo.
The upcoming movie — written by David Magee, who received Oscar nominations for Best Adapted Screenplay for 2004’s Finding Neverland and 2012’s Life of Pi — makes for the second time Backman’s novel has been adapted to the screen.
A Swedish adaptation written and directed by filmmaker Hannes Holm, also titled A Man Called Ove, was released in 2015. The film earned Oscar nominations for Best Foreign Language Film and Best Makeup and Hairstyling at the time.
A Man Called Otto hits select theaters Dec. 25 then everywhere Jan. 13.
Related Post: ‘A Man Called Otto’ delayed until December 25th to a limited release in Northern America.
