Thanks to THR, we now know who will star alongside Tom Hanks, Colman Domingo, and Bad Bunny in Marielle Heller‘s upcoming film “The Comebacker“ as an MLB pitcher whose poetic, rhapsodic soliloquies after a fly ball to the head inspire a journalist and an entire fanbase: Callum Turner. A new cover feature about the actor confirmed the casting. Is it Turner’s biggest role of his career? It might be, although that honor will undoubtedly go to James Bond if he’s cast as 007.
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Based on David Eggers‘ short story of the same name, “The Comebacker” stars Hanks as a sports journalist who rediscovers his spark after an upstart pitcher takes a line drive to the skull and begins exhibiting increasingly erratic behavior, including wildly inspirational press conferences that take baseball by storm. However, expect Heller to make a few adjustments to the story for her adaptation. THR hints at one of those: the cover story states that Hanks’ role is not a journalist but a pitching coach. And there was some speculation when “The Comebacker” was first announced that the MLB team of the young pitcher may change as well. Eggers’ story centers on the San Francisco Giants, but Heller may switch the team to the New York Mets. Let’s wait for confirmation on that front, as well as who Domingo and Bad Bunny will play in the film.
But let’s keep the focus on Turner, who’s amassing quite a lot of buzzy projects. The UK actor (and now officially the husband of one pop icon Dua Lipa) is coming off three diverse 2025 movies, “Atropia,” “Rose Of Nevada,” and “Eternity,” with Karim Aïnouz‘s “Rosebush Pruning“ and rom-com “One Night Only“ on the way this year. Other future projects for Turner include Parker Finn‘s new take on “Possession” with Margaret Qualley, “Alone Together“ with Adria Arjona, and Apple TV‘s upcoming series adaptation of William Gibson‘s “Neuromancer.” That’s quite the batch of upcoming projects for him, but Turner working with a major directing talent like Heller may be the best of the lot.
As for Heller, “The Comebacker” is her first film since 2024’s “Nightbitch.” She also has a live-action adaptation of the animated film “FernGully“ in the works (yes, you read that right).
Expect production on “The Comebacker” to get started later this year. But does Turner’s casting mean he’s no longer in the running for Bond? To be honest, anything circulating about 007 casting shouldn’t be taken seriously until Amazon MGM Studios announces who Denis Villeneuve casts. Besides, Turner has plenty of other projects, and his new wife, to keep him busy at the moment.
