Sean Penn is set to direct a film about a police officer who was at the nation’s capital on January 6, 2021, with Bradley Cooper reportedly being a top candidate to play the leading role.

According to Deadline, the currently untitled film will follow the cop’s early life.

Reports describe the film for Penn, who recently won his third Oscar for One Battle After Another, as a “passion project.”

The film is being described as “an unexpected story about friendship.”

Deadline shared further:

The film will re-team Penn with One Battle After Another studio Warner Bros, which has acquired it in a negative pickup. Penn will produce with John Ira Palmer and John Wildermuth under their Projected Picture Works banner. CAA Media Finance negotiated the WB deal on behalf of the producers.

ADVERTISEMENT

Production is being targeted for mid-2027 given Cooper’s commitments on the next Oceans film.

The project has been described to us as an unexpected story about friendship. But it will function on multiple levels. Based on one of the real-life cops caught up in the Capitol attack, the project is understood to have buy-in from its subject, however their identity is being kept under wraps for now.

We’re told the focus is on the subject’s early journey, one that led to him later becoming an American hero in the eyes of many. It’s not a ‘January 6th movie’ per se. Nonetheless, given the still divisive terrain, the political climate, and the studio’s potential new owners, it’s a commendable commitment by Warner Bros, which has had big success recently with bold original stories.

Penn attended the 2022 hearings of the House Select Committee investigating J6, saying he was there as “just another citizen.”

According to the Associated Press, Penn sat between “Washington, D.C., Metropolitan Police officers Michael Fanone and Daniel Hodges.”

More from the Associated Press:

The movie’s announcement comes just days after the U.S. Justice Department said it will not challenge Paramount Skydance’s proposed acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery. The $111 billion deal, agreed to in February, will put the Warner Bros. film studio under the control of David Ellison, Paramount’s chief executive.

Ellison and his father, the Oracle founder Larry Ellison, have strong ties to President Donald Trump. On Sunday, Ellison attended the Ultimate Fighting Championship event at the White House.

“One Battle After Another,” hailed as a timely political film, won best picture at the Academy Awards in March. Penn won his third Oscar for his racist military zealot Col. Steven J. Lockjaw, but skipped the ceremony to instead visit Ukraine.

ADVERTISEMENT
 

Join The Conversation. Leave a Comment.