Tom Hanks Cast in Baseball Film The Comebacker

Tom Hanks Steps Up to the Plate in New Baseball Dramedy 'The Comebacker'

Director Marielle Heller reunites with Hanks for a Dave Eggers adaptation featuring Bad Bunny and Colman Domingo in potential roles.

Sofia Chen

Mar 26, 2026, 7:02 PM PT · 2 min read

Tom Hanks — Photo: Dick Thomas Johnson / CC BY-SA 2.5 via Wikimedia Commons

THE RUNDOWN

Tom Hanks stars in 'The Comebacker' directed by Marielle Heller.
The film is an adaptation of a Dave Eggers short story.
Production for the baseball dramedy is scheduled for October 2024.
Bad Bunny and Colman Domingo are reportedly in talks for roles.
Multiple studios are currently engaged in a bidding war for the project.

Two-time Academy Award winner Tom Hanks is returning to the world of baseball for the first time since his iconic turn in A League of Their Own. Hanks is set to star in The Comebacker, a new dramedy directed by Marielle Heller. The project marks a high-profile reunion for the pair, who previously worked together on the 2019 Fred Rogers biopic A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood.

The film is based on a short story by Dave Eggers, originally published in McSweeney’s. The narrative centers on the life-altering impact of a pitcher’s traumatic head injury. Reports from World of Reel indicate that Hanks is eyeing one of two pivotal roles: a seasoned pitching coach or a sports journalist covering the fallout of the accident. Bad Bunny and Oscar nominee Colman Domingo are also reportedly in talks to join the ensemble cast as the project heads toward a October 2024 production start date.

Tom Hanks drawing — Photo: Alipourvaghar / CC BY-SA 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons

The package has sparked an intense bidding war among major studios and streaming services eager to land the script. With a screenplay inspired by Eggers’ prose, The Comebacker aims to balance the technical aspects of the sport with deep emotional resonance. This latest venture continues a busy slate for Hanks, following his recent collaboration with Robert Zemeckis on the upcoming film Here.