Tom Hanks to play Abraham Lincoln in film adaptation of Lincoln in the Bardo

Tom Hanks is set to play U.S. President Abraham Lincoln in the movie adaptation of the 2017 novel Lincoln in the Bardo.

The Oscar-winning actor will play the 16th U.S. President, who made his mark in history by abolishing slavery and leading the nation through the Civil War, in the film version of George Saunders's bestselling novel.

Hanks will also produce the project with his producing partner Gary Goetzman for their Playtone banner.

According to Deadline, Lincoln in the Bardo centres upon Lincoln's relationship with his recently deceased 11-year-old son and will use a unique blend of stop-motion animation and live-action to depict one of the most intimate moments of his life.

The film will explore "themes of love, empathy and human capacity in the face of unimaginable grief" via an ensemble of characters, "both living and dead, historical and invented".

Saunders is adapting his novel, and Oscar-nominated filmmaker Duke Johnson, a stop-motion animation specialist, will direct and produce. Filming will take place in London.

The Forrest Gump star has an unexpected connection to Lincoln - he is a distant cousin of the politician's mother Nancy Hanks. He also narrated and hosted the 2013 TV docudrama Killing Lincoln.

While the Big actor has never played a U.S. President, he has portrayed several real-life figures on-screen in the past, including Walt Disney in Saving Mr. Banks, Fred Rodgers in A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood, astronaut Jim Lovell in Apollo 13 and pilot Chesley 'Sully' Sullenberger in Sully.

Lincoln was most famously portrayed on-screen by Daniel Day-Lewis in Steven Spielberg's 2012 movie Lincoln. He received his third Best Actor Oscar for his performance.