Starburns Industries’ ‘Lincoln in the Bardo’ Adaptation Enlists Willem Dafoe, Jonathan Bailey, and Peter Dinklage

Posted on by

Starburns Industries has officially expanded the voice cast for its upcoming stop-motion hybrid adaptation of Lincoln in the Bardo, bringing award-winning actors Willem Dafoe, Jonathan Bailey, and Peter Dinklage on board. Based on George Saunders’ 2017 Booker Prize-winning novel, the film is directed by Academy Award nominee Duke Johnson (Anomalisa), with Saunders himself adapting the screenplay.

The newly cast trio joins Tom Hanks, who stars in live-action as President Abraham Lincoln.

Navigating Grief in the Afterlife

Set during the height of the American Civil War, Lincoln in the Bardo focuses on one of the most painful moments of Abraham Lincoln’s life: the death of his 11-year-old son, Willie. Combining live-action sequences with stop-motion animation, the story unfolds in the “bardo”—a Tibetan transitional state between death and rebirth—where a collection of lingering spirits watch over the mourning President.

The new cast members voice three of the central ghost figures inhabiting the graveyard:

  • Willem Dafoe as Reverend Everly Thomas, the ghost of a minister who passed away expecting heaven, only to discover a far more complicated reality.

  • Jonathan Bailey as Roger Bevins, the spirit of a young man who tragically took his own life after a failed romance and immediately regretted the decision.

  • Peter Dinklage as Hans Vollman, a ghost fixated on his unfulfilled dream of reuniting with his significantly younger wife.

Powerhouse Creative and Production Team

The project brings together major creative forces across animation and feature film production. Duke Johnson produces for Starburns Industries alongside Paul Young and Devon Young Rabinowitz. Tom Hanks and Gary Goetzman also produce via Playtone, with Steven Shareshian, Aaron Mitchell, and author George Saunders serving as executive producers.

By blending Tom Hanks’ live-action performance as Lincoln with stop-motion animated spectral figures, the adaptation aims to mirror the surreal, multi-voiced structure of Saunders’ original text while exploring themes of love, loss, and national grief.

About John Schwarz

John is the Chief Editor and Founder of Bubbleblabber.com. While at first a part-time project, Bubbleblabber quickly grew into a full-fledged operation and officially became a company in 2014. When John isn't running a business full-time, he likes to go to concerts with your mother.