Steven Spielberg’s Cold War Thriller Has a Title, ‘Bridge of Spies,’ and the Director Has a Full Slate

In an interview with The Daily Pennsylvanian, producer Marc Platt nonchalantly revealed the title of Steven Spielberg’s upcoming Cold War thriller, which stars Tom Hanks as an American lawyer recruited by the CIA to secure the release of a pilot in the Soviet Union: “Bridge of Spies,” the term coined in the media to describe Berlin’s Glienicke Bridge, site of several Cold War prisoner exchanges. Set for an October 16 release, in the midst of awards season, the film is but the first in a series of projects with Spielberg in the director’s chair, three years removed from “Lincoln.”

Spielberg is attached to direct Jennifer Lawrence in “It’s What I Do,” based on the memoir by Pulitizer prize-winning photojournalist Lynsey Addario, and the rumor mill is at full speed since Deadline reported in late January that Disney—which purchased the rights to the famed franchise from paramount in 2013—is “eyeing” Chris Pratt to assume Harrison Ford’s iconic role in “Indiana Jones 5.” No details have been confirmed, but Deadline has since followed up with a report that Spielberg hopes to helm the next installment.

Read: “Career Watch: For Jennifer Lawrence, If It Ain’t Broke, Don’t Fix It”

On firmer ground is the director’s adaptation of Roald Dahl’s children’s classic “The BFG,” currently in pre-production and slated for release in July 2016. The film features 10-year-old British newcomer Ruby Barnhill as Sophie, a young girl who meets the world’s sole “Big Friendly Giant,” who’ll be played by Mark Rylance (set to star as Thomas Cromwell in the upcoming miniseries “Wolf Hall”). With “E.T.” screenwriter Melissa Mathison on board and Spielberg’s golden touch with child actors, “The BFG” promises to be a BFD indeed. And it means Spielberg, at least for the foreseeable future, is a busy, busy man.