Those of you who saw True Grit and started worrying about the state of John Goodman’s health – the Coens regular was notably absent from the Wild West adventure – can stop fretting. He’s fine. Better than fine really. Treme was great, he just wrapped on Kevin Smith’s Red State and now he’s been confirmed for a role in the 9/11 novel adaptation Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close.

Now don’t start groaning “Not another 9/11 movie!” just yet. For starters, Goodman joins previously cast stars Tom Hanks and Sandra Bullock. Also, let’s be real here: Goodman is one of those actors who elevates the quality of any work he’s connected to.

The source itself is also an object of interest. Jonathan Safran Foer’s 2005 novel Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close is notable for the way it uses images to help color the story. The Reader director Stephen Daldry is at the helm and he certainly knows his way around heavy material. It will be interesting to see how he works in Foer’s literary technique from the book. It’ll also be great to see Hanks performing lines penned by Forrest Gump writer Eric Roth.

The story follows Oskar (Thomas Horn, a newcomer), a 10-year-old boy whose father (Hanks) dies in the 9/11 attack on New York City. He sets out to unravel the mystery surrounding a lock-box key left behind by his departed dad and encounters a random lineup of people along the way. These encounters form the core of the story, as Oskar reconciles his own loss through his interactions with a grief-stricken community. Goodman will play a doorman in Oskar’s building who (spoiler alert) offers to help dig up the boy’s father’s coffin.