News of the World: who stars in the Netflix western movie with Tom Hanks, release date – and what is it about?

News of the World stars Tom Hanks – his first role in the genre – and sees him teaming up with director Paul Greengrass.

The pair previously worked together on 2013’s Somali pirates thriller Captain Phillips, which was nominated for six Academy Awards, including Best Picture.

Here is everything you need to know about their new film.

What is News of the World about?

News of the World is set in the US five years after the end of the Civil War in 1870.

It follows the story of Captain Jefferson Kyle Kidd (Hanks), who crosses paths with Johanna, a 10-year old girl who was taken by the Kiowa tribe of Native Americans when she was just an infant.

Forced to return to her aunt and uncle, Kidd agrees to escort Johanna across the harsh and unforgiving plains of Texas, but the long journey soon turns into a fight for survival as the travelling companions encounter danger at every turn, from both human and natural sources.

Who stars in it?

Alongside Hanks, 12-year old German actress Helena Zengel stars as Johanna, a mostly silent role from which Zengel has one much praise from critics.

Film fans may recognise Zengel as the star of selected as the star of 2019 drama System Crasher, which was Germany’s entry for the Best International Feature Film award at the 92nd Academy Awards, though it was not nominated.

Acting opposite the central duo are Mare Winningham, an Oscar nominated actress who plays Jane; Elizabeth Marvel – best known for her roles as Heather Dunbar on House of Cards and President Elizabeth Keane on Homeland – as Ella Gannett; and Bill Camp, who recently appeared in Netflix series The Queen's Gambit, and plays Corey Farley.

Elsewhere on the cast are Neil Sandilands (The Flash), Thomas Francis Murphy (The Walking Dead), Chukwudi Iwuji (Designated Survivor), and Ray McKinnon (Sons of Anarchy).

Is it any good?

In America, News of the World released in cinemas on Christmas Day, providing critics ample opportunity to sample the film for themselves.

At the time of writing, News of the World has an 86% approval rating on review aggregation site Rotten Tomatoes, who say the film “takes a slow but absorbing ride down a comfortingly familiar Western trail, guided by Tom Hanks in peak paternal mode.”

Rolling Stone’s K. Austin Collins praised Hanks’ performance, saying the veteran actor’s “even keel” makes him suitable for “a movie which, in the manner of its hero, plays it straight, hits it all right down the middle.”

Brian Lowry from CNN said the film is “solid if unspectacular film”, adding that it presents “a familiar story against an interesting historical backdrop.”

The BBC’s Caryn James called the film “thoroughly engaging in its own right,” and compared it to some contemporary Western classics, saying New of the World is “like The Searchers without the racist hero, True Grit without the wisecracks.”

Leah Greenblatt of Entertainment Weekly said that while the film “offers few surprises and even less alacrity… there's a cumulative weight to World that feels, if hardly new, still worth sitting through.”

When can I watch it?

The film was originally due to premiere in UK cinemas on New Year’s Day, just a week after it made its debut on the big screens of America.

While News of the World’s planned cinematic release did go ahead in the US, due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, it’s moving to online streaming on this side of the Atlantic.

Netflix have picked up the rights for international streaming, and News of the World was made available on 10 February.