Sean Penn considering Cartel

Negotiating the join the crime drama

Mar 10th 2009 By Total Film

Not that he’s ever unemployed for long, but Sean Penn is very much in demand following his recent Oscar win.

He’s currently in talks to star in Cartel for Universal, with Brian Grazer producing.

Documentary filmmaker Asger Leth is making the leap to fiction for the film, which follows a man named Ed Marker trying to protect his son when his wife is slaughtered by a Mexican cartel.

Peter Craig scripted the pic, and it was originally planned as a remake of the 1993 Italian release La Scorta, which saw cops trying to protect a special prosecutor from the Mafia.

Suffice to say it’s a little bit… different now. And it looks like Penn is wanting to get back into something a little more action packed.

Universal wants this thing shooting by summer, so it’s trying to lock down Penn’s deal quickly. He’ll be deciding between this and journo drama Fair Game, so he can be picky…

[Source: Variety]

The last action-flavoured Penn pic was The Interpreter. Should we be worried?