Tom Hanks Reshapes WWII Projects Across Film and Streaming Platforms

Actor and producer Tom Hanks shaped key narrative elements of World War II media, demanding major script changes for the film Saving Private Ryan while his documentary project climbed streaming charts in August 2026.

The docuseries World War II with Tom Hanks reached the No. 3 spot on the top 10 most-watched series charts on both Apple TV and Amazon Prime Video video-on-demand stores. Produced by the History Channel and narrated by Hanks, the 20-episode program concluded its original television run on July 27 after premiering on May 25.

Hanks previously altered the narrative structure of Steven Spielberg's 1998 classic Saving Private Ryan before filming began. Screenwriter Robert Rodat originally drafted Captain John Miller as a cynical soldier who had already earned the highest military honor.

Hanks rejected the character's initial backstory during early script revisions with the production team.

"We kept trying to make it better and more interesting," Hanks said. "The original script had a lot more dialogue, wry comments, and funny jokes. We changed probably every word of the screenplay."

The leading actor expressed specific concerns regarding the original character arc for Captain Miller.

"In the draft I read, Captain Miller had already won the Congressional Medal of Honor, which was just ridiculous," Hanks said. "They wanted him to be a guy who was scoffing at the mission. But I said, 'I can't do that; a guy who won that would be home selling war bonds.

No way he'd still be there. You can't just pass that out to characters willy nilly, to make them cooler or more heroic."

Hanks noted that scriptwriting undergoes multiple iterations throughout development.

"When you make a script, there's two times you have to write it: the time you sell it, and time you make it," Hanks said.

Hanks has maintained an extensive portfolio of World War II productions throughout his career. Beyond starring in Saving Private Ryan and the 2020 naval drama Greyhound, Hanks produced miniseries such as Band of Brothers, The Pacific, and Masters of the Air, while executive producing the 4D documentary Beyond All Boundaries for the National WWII Museum in New Orleans.