Is Tom Hanks playing MLK? Fake Netflix movie debunked

Alleged images of Tom Hanks playing Martin Luther King for an MLK biopic for Netflix earlier went viral — but, as you’d expect, there’s more to the story.

Fake movie posters are a cottage industry on social media. This week alone, people on Facebook believed a reboot of The Golden Girls was coming to Disney Plus, a live-action Dragon Ball Z series was being made for Netflix, and an Overboard remake with Matthew McConaughey was happening.

While there are plenty of new movies releasing every month, none of these projects are actually happening. More often than not, they’re just rumors from shameless social media posts designed to mislead people.

So, if you’ve ever seen Tom Hanks stylized as Martin Luther King, here’s what you should know.

Tom Hanks’ fake Martin Luther King Netflix movie explained

Tom Hanks isn’t playing Martin Luther King, nor is there a Netflix movie called MLK coming out anytime soon.

You may have seen a poster for a new Netflix original movie called MLK, appearing to show Hanks dressed up and styled as the civil rights leader. Not only that, but there’s an article from Wolfshead Online that (jokingly) reaffirms the news, alleging that the biopic will be directed by Steven Spielberg.

Of course, this is completely untrue: any images of Hanks as King are AI-generated, much like the made-up all-Black Dukes of Hazzard reboot and Will Smith seemingly playing Adolf Hitler. It’s been created for nothing more than to stir up controversy and laughs, but some people have been fooled into thinking it’s real.

“Out of all the actors in the world Netflix casted TOM HANKS to be MLK. TOM F*CKING HANKS. Martin Luther King is rolling over in his grave,” one user wrote. “And why the f*ck is Tom Hanks playing MLK y’all trying to white wash history again,” another wrote. “I thought Tom Hanks playing MLK was a joke. Nope! They are trying to get us back for The Little Mermaid… they are dead serious,” a third tweeted.

“I didn’t complain when Idris Elba portrayed a Scandinavian god (amazingly), so why should I be upset about Tom Hanks as MLK? This is acting. We can be whoever we want to be. I’d love to see a black actress playing Queen Victoria or Joan of Arc,” a fourth wrote. “Oh wow Tom Hanks is really playing MLK in a movie that’s wild lol. I thought it was just some internet sh*t,” a fifth tweeted.

Don’t worry folks, this is the very definition of “internet sh*t.” If it seems too outrageous, it’s probably AI.

In the meantime, you can find out what new TV shows you can watch on Netflix and other streaming platforms this month, and other new Netflix documentaries coming out soon.