Sony Pictures recently revealed that several upcoming movies now have set release dates. One of these films is A Man Called Otto, which stars Academy Award-winner Tom Hanks (Forrest Gump) in the lead role. A Man Called Otto is officially a Sony property as of last week following an intense bidding war at the Berlin Film Festival's European Film Market.

The film is based on Fredrik Backman's New York Times Best Selling Novel "A Man Called Ove," which was also adapted into a Swedish comedy directed by Hannes Holm in 2015. The 2022 remake — which has renamed its titular character from Ove to Otto to reflect its American setting — will be directed by Marc Foster (Finding Neverland). Two-time Academy Award nominee David Magee (Life of Pi) is adapting the original novel to screenplay.

The film will tell the story of Otto, a crotchety, irritable, and fiercely strict widower. He holds his whole neighborhood bound to his principles as he judgmentally observes them all every day. Just as this isolated (and deep-down lonely) man who's still grieving the loss of his wife seems to have completely lost the spark for life, wishing for death, he strikes an unlikely friendship with his new neighbors. Slowly but surely, Otto begins to change. But the road to change is not an easy one when old habits die hard.

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Image via AppleTV

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Producing A Man Called Otto alongside Hanks is his wife Rita Wilson​​​​​​, Fredrik Wikström Nicastro of SF Studios, and Gary Goetzman. Forster, Magee, and Renée Wolf are executive producing. Alongside Hanks, the film also stars Mariana Treviño, Rachel Keller, and Manuel Garcia-Rulfo. Filming was to begin this month in Pittsburgh.

Tom Rothman, CEO, and chairman of Sony Pictures Motion Picture Group, previously made this comment about the cast and crew:

"What an amazing all-star constellation of talent: Tom Hanks in an iconic role and an exceptional director in Mark Forster; outstanding producers in Rita Wilson, Gary Goetzman and Fredrik Wikström Nicastro; exquisite screenplay from David Magee; a worldwide best-selling book; and our long-time partner, SF Studios."

A Man Called Otto will be arriving in theaters on Christmas Day, December 25, 2022.