tom hanks richard phillipsTom Hanks, missing from the big screen since 'Angels & Demons' in 2009, has made a splash by signing on to play Capt. Richard Phillips in Sony's adaptation of 'A Captain's Duty: Somali Pirates, Navy SEALs, and Dangerous Days at Sea,' Phillips' memoir of his harrowing experience with Somali pirates in 2009, according to Deadline.

Hanks, who is very picky about his projects, took a liking to a draft of the script for the film recently turned in by 'The Hunger Games' screenwriter Billy Ray.

Phillips was the leader of the cargo ship Maersk Alabama and gave himself up as a hostage to the pirates to save his crew; he was rescued three days later when Navy SEALs staged a raid that left three captors dead and another in custody.