“Taken” director Pierre Morel will be behind the camera when Sean Penn becomes a retired CIA killer “whose past comes back to haunt him” in “The Gunman,” which starts filming in June.
It’s a Joel Silver actioner, Universal has US rights to distribute it. And it’s attracted overseas buyers at Cannes, where Penn is still considered box office.
But in the past ten years, Penn has gone his own way so often that his track record is spotty, at best. “Milk” was a critical and commercial hit, but virtually everything else he’s touched and either disappeared without a trace — “Fair Game”, “This Must Be the Place” (barely released), with “All the King’s Men” and “The Gangster Squad” failing to find big audiences.
Hit man movies are a dime a dozen. Plainly, he’s angling for something commercial. Will it hit?