It's strange to think of the actor that Sean Penn became after breaking out playing Jeff Spicoli in Amy Heckerling's 1982 classic Fast Times at Ridgemont High, but it's even weirder to think about where he may be going next: to become an action star. The Oscar winning star is now in talks to take the lead in Prone Gunman, a new movie being developed by Joel Silver's Silver Pictures.
The film will be based on the novel of the same name by Jean-Patrick Manchette, and according to THR should Penn take the part he will play Martin Terrier, an international operative who is sent on the run after he is betrayed by his handlers. The trade notes that Penn may be drawn to the project because of its themes, which are described as being "existentialist and involving explorations of politics as well as the human condition." Pete Travis, who is known as a director more than he's known as a writer (he most recently helmed Dredd 3D) is writing the project, an Studiocanal is aboard as a financier, but there is no helmer currently attached. Silver, of course, is best known for movies like The Matrix, Lethal Weapon, Predator, and Die Hard and will be producing along with partner Andrew Rona.
Penn's dramedy This Must Be The Place was just given a limited release earlier this month. He will next be seen alongside Josh Brolin and Ryan Gosling and Ruben Fleischer's Gangster Squad, which Warner Bros. will be releasing on January 11, 2013.
