Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan Reunite in 'Ithaca'

The combination of Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan used to be a powerful thing, capable of dominating box offices in everything from Joe vs. the Volcano to rom-com classics You've Got Mail and Sleepless in Seattle. Things have changed considerably for them as they've gotten older, especially for Ryan who hasn't had a feature film since 2009. But now, twenty-four years after their first pairing. Hanks and Ryan will be reunited, although it won't be as romantic leads.

Hanks is set to produce Ryan's directorial debut, Ithaca, which she also plans to star in alongside Sam Shepard, Melanie Griffith and Jack Quaid. Based on William Saroyan's novel The Human Comedy, the Erik Jendresen-adapted film "is set in 1942 in a small town in California’s San Joaquin Valley, where 14-year-old Homer Macauley is determined to be the best and fastest bicycle telegraph messenger anyone has ever seen. His older brother has gone to war, leaving Homer to look after his widowed mother, his older sister and his 4-year-old brother. As spring turns to summer, Homer delivers messages of love, hope, pain and death to the good people of Ithaca."

Perhaps Hanks can be convinced to make a small cameo? Production is set to begin this summer.  [Deadline]