Tom Hanks on World War II obsession: 'Wrestling with this just recently'
Synopsis
Tom Hanks has spent nearly three decades making World War II films and series — and he says he is only now asking himself why. His answer, delivered to The Hollywood Reporter, is striking: it is not about the past, it is about the choices people face right now in 2026. His new 20-episode History Channel series with Pulitzer Prize-winner Jon Meacham is the latest expression of that compulsion.
Key Takeaways
Tom Hanks says he has been ‘wrestling’ with why he repeatedly returns to World War II as a creative subject.
His association with the conflict dates to 1998 and Saving Private Ryan , followed by Band of Brothers , The Pacific , Masters of the Air , and Greyhound .
Hanks says the draw is the parallel between wartime moral choices and ‘the palpable choices that we face here in 2026 .’ He explicitly linked the ideological forces of World War II — racial and theological supremacy — to dynamics visible in the world today.
His new project, World War II with Tom Hanks , is a 20-episode History Channel series co-created with historian Jon Meacham , covering every major event of the conflict.
Hollywood star Tom Hanks has revealed he has been actively “wrestling” with the question of why he keeps returning to World War II as a creative subject — seeking, as he puts it, “poetry, solace and enlightenment” from the conflict. The admission comes as Hanks prepares to narrate and executive produce a new History Channel documentary series, World War II with Tom Hanks.
A Career Built Around the Second World War
Hanks’ association with World War II storytelling stretches back to 1998, when director Steven Spielberg cast him in the landmark war film Saving Private Ryan. In the decades that followed, he executive produced the celebrated miniseries Band of Brothers, The Pacific, and Masters of the Air, and starred in the naval war thriller Greyhound. Few figures in contemporary Hollywood have devoted as much creative energy to the conflict.
What Hanks Said About His Fascination
Speaking to The Hollywood Reporter, Hanks reflected candidly on the pull the war continues to exert on him. “I’ve been wrestling with this just recently. I’ve been asking myself at nighttime, in those moments of the soul, why do I keep turning to it again and again for that combination of poetry and solace and enlightenment?” he said.
He concluded that the answer lies not in nostalgia for wartime heroism but in the uncomfortable parallels between that era and the present. “It has to be more about the palpable choices that we face here in 2026 as opposed to, look what those tough guys did back in the 1930s,” Hanks said. He drew a direct line between the “tactile decisions” individuals faced then — whether to get involved, which side to stand on — and the moral choices people confront today.
The Parallel He Finds Most Unsettling
Hanks was notably direct when identifying the ideological forces that drove World War II. “There were two forces out there that said we are racially superior to anybody else, or we are theologically superior to everybody else, because of what is inside our blood. Is that in existence anywhere today? Well, yeah,” he said.
While he acknowledged that the stakes in World War II were “as blatant and obvious as the difference between freedom and slavery,” he argued that the essential nature of the choice — to act, to resist, to engage — “always comes down to some kind of personal choice that we’re going to have to make no matter what the war is.”
About the New Series
The forthcoming World War II with Tom Hanks is a 20-episode documentary series for the History Channel, which Hanks has executive produced alongside Pulitzer Prize-winning historian Jon Meacham. The series aims to cover “every major event of the worldwide conflict,” with Hanks serving as narrator. It represents his most comprehensive engagement yet with the subject that has defined much of his producing career.
Whether the series will prompt further reflection — or further projects — from Hanks on the Second World War remains to be seen.
Point of View
’ he is doing something unusual for a major Hollywood star: using a history documentary launch to make a direct comment on the present. The 20-episode format with Jon Meacham — a historian closely associated with American democratic tradition — signals that this is not passive nostalgia. It is advocacy dressed as history, and mainstream entertainment coverage risks missing that distinction entirely.
NationPress
10 Jul 2026
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the new Tom Hanks World War II series about?
World War II with Tom Hanks is a 20-episode documentary series for the History Channel, narrated and executive produced by Tom Hanks alongside Pulitzer Prize-winning historian Jon Meacham. It aims to cover every major event of the Second World War.
Why does Tom Hanks keep making World War II projects?
Hanks says he has been asking himself the same question, describing it as something he wrestles with ‘in those moments of the soul.’ He concluded it is about the parallels between wartime moral choices and the decisions people face in 2026, not simply admiration for wartime heroism.
What was Tom Hanks’ first World War II project?
Hanks’ first World War II project was the 1998 Steven Spielberg film Saving Private Ryan , in which he starred. He subsequently executive produced Band of Brothers , The Pacific , and Masters of the Air , and starred in the naval thriller Greyhound .
Who is Jon Meacham and why is he involved?
Jon Meacham is a Pulitzer Prize-winning American historian known for his work on presidential history and democratic values. He is co-creator of World War II with Tom Hanks on the History Channel, providing the scholarly framework for the 20-episode series.
What parallel did Tom Hanks draw between World War II and today?
Hanks pointed to the ideological forces that drove the war — claims of racial and theological superiority — and said such forces are ‘in existence’ today. He argued that the personal choice to get involved or resist is as relevant now as it was in the 1930s and 1940s.
