Tom Hanks to Narrate Tony Scott's 'Killing Lincoln'

Tom Hanks has been tapped to narrate the film Killing Lincoln from executive producers Ridley Scott and the late Tony Scott's Scott Free Productions.

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The Oscar-winning actor will wear several hats -- host, narrator and historical commentator -- for the two-hour movie, slated to air on the National Geographic Channel in early 2013.

Killing Lincoln is based on the best-selling book Killing Lincoln: The Shocking Assassination that Changed America Forever, written by Fox News anchor Bill O'Reilly and Martin Dugard, and re-tell the events featuring Billy Campbell as Abraham Lincoln and Jesse Johnson as John Wilkes Booth, combining CGI technology with "rare historial archives," according to a release.

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“It's odd to say the killing of Abraham Lincoln is an unknown story, but it may as well be,” Hanks said in a statement. "The depth of the intrigue, the breadth of the conspiracy and the bare-naked exposure of human nature is so timeless, it's a wonder how that seminal tragedy in our history could ever be explained in a few sentences: 'Ford's Theater… John Wilkes Booth,' etc. The murder of Lincoln is not a passage of our history — it was a signpost of our American character, then, now and forever."

Adrian Moat (Gettysburg) is Killing Lincoln's director. Besides Scott Free Productions, the other executive producers are O'Reilly, David Zucker, Mary Lisio, Mark Herzog, Erik Jendresen and Teri Weinberg.

"Only Hanks can add that unique poise, intrigue and dynamism that are his trademark to a film about one of the most significant, life-changing events in America’s young history,” Ridley Scott said in a statement. "His mastery always shines through and we can’t wait for viewers to be engrossed in this story."