Tom Hanks now says 'Greyhound' film was 'rescued at sea' by Apple TV+

Credit: Apple TV+

Hanks previously told The Guardian that the "Greyhound" release on Apple TV instead of in cinemas was an "absolute heartbreak," largely due to the differences in picture and sound quality.

In a televised interview on NBC's "Today" show on Tuesday morning, Hanks has added some additional clarifications about "Greyhound" on Apple TV. He said that he's "actually thrilled that Apple TV+ is making it possible for everyone to see it."

Hanks went on to call theater closures due to the coronavirus health crisis "heartbreaking," and added that Apple "saved the day for us" by allowing anyone with an Apple TV+ subscription to watch the film.

"Barring that, Apple has saved the day for us," Hanks added. "We had a magnificent movie that was not going to be seen. Apple is a benevolent streaming service in every way."

The actor and filmmaker went on to call the partnership with Apple TV+ a "magnificent deal."

"We are going to be able to fill up the screens in the living rooms and the bean-bag chairs of the world all in one fall shot, so we feel as though we were rescued at sea by a convoy with a big Apple logo with a bite taken out of it," Hanks said.

A full transcript of Hanks' comments on The Today Show can be seen below.

I'm actually thrilled that Apple TV+ is making it possible for everybody to see it This is a magnificent gift that's come to us because of Apple because COVID-19 did something heartbreaking to us all: it closed down the theaters. We don't have the cinema. There isn't anybody that doesn't like going to see a good movie with 800 people and coming out with something in common. Barring that, Apple has saved the day for us. We had a magnificent movie that was not going to be seen. Apple is a benevolent streaming service in every way. It's going to look fantastic but it's going to be available. It is going to be viewable, and otherwise we would've languished in a vault for a movie that is 88 minutes of a thematic story that does speak to what we're all going through right now. We didn't know that at the time we made the film, we were just trying to make a lean, new spare version about procedures and behaviors about how difficult it was to stay alive in the North Atlantic in 1942. It's a magnificent deal and we are going to be able to fill up the screens in the living rooms and the bean-bag chairs of the world all in one fall shot, so we feel as though we were rescued at sea by a convoy with a big Apple logo with a bite taken out of it.

Apple acquired "Greyhound," a WWII film focused on allied naval forces during the Battle of the Atlantic, to the tune of $70 million in May.

The film will make its debut exclusively on Apple TV+ on Friday, July 10.