BATON ROUGE - A World War II film starring Academy Award-winning actor Tom Hanks will film around downtown Baton Rouge early next year.

According to the Louisiana Office of Economic Development, the WWII drama 'Greyhound' will be filming aboard the USS Kidd and at other Baton Rouge locations in March 2018.

Hanks will star as commander of the titular Navy destroyer, the USS Greyhound, which was charged with escorting a military convoy soon after the United States entered World War II. Hanks adapted the script from the novel “The Good Shepherd,” published in 1955 by C.S. Forester. The film will be directed by another Academy Award-winner, Aaron Schneider.

Hanks is known for his interest in WWII history, having narrated the 'Beyond All Boundaries' attraction at the national WWII museum in New Orleans.

The film is expected to employ hundreds of Louisiana residents, with more than half of its $50 million budget being spent in Louisiana, according to the LED.

'Greyhound' is also the first major film to take advantage of Louisiana's revised film incentive program, which Governor John Bel Edwards signed into law last summer. This includes a five-percent tax credit on Louisiana expenditures for motion pictures filmed outside of the New Orleans area.