Once we all stop laughing at the probably-inadvertent pun title, let’s consider the news that Sean Penn is set to star in a movie called Prone Gunman and that it might get the perfect director for the job. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Taken director Pierre Morel is in talks to take Penn where Liam Neeson boldly went a few years ago.
Penn would star as Martin Terrier (seriously), an operative who’s betrayed (imagine that) and has to fight back against his own organization (a fresh concept) in a game of “cat-and-mouse” that somehow has nothing to do with his dog-based last name.
On the one hand, the prospect of seeing Penn killing people with books and generally being a badass is pretty fantastic. The guy has incredible range, and it’s easy to forget that with the layer of prestige he seems to walk around with. On the other, it would be sort of sad to see Morel’s brand of action become a brand of retirement home for aging male actors. Over the age of 50? Time to start doing your fast-paced, barely plotted thriller phase! If we can somehow as a community stop that from happening, then I’m 100% on board. Plus, this all but ensures that another Oscar-caliber actor will become an internet meme, so we all win.