Sean Penn's Next Movie Project: the Capitol Riot

Sean Penn is turning his attention to one of the most charged days in recent US history—and he may bring Bradley Cooper with him. The 65-year-old actor-director is developing a feature film centered on a police officer who was on duty during the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol, according to Deadline and the Hollywood Reporter. Cooper is in talks to star, though his involvement isn't locked in. The real officer whose story inspired the film has reportedly agreed to participate but has not been publicly identified.

Rather than a blow-by-blow of the riot, the movie is described as an exploration of the officer's life leading up to that day and an "unexpected friendship" that emerges from it. Penn wrote the script and will direct and produce under his Projected Picture Works banner, alongside producers John Ira Palmer and John Wildermuth. The project does not yet have a title. Penn, a vocal critic of President Trump, previously attended a House Jan. 6 committee hearing "as just another citizen," where he sat with former DC officer Michael Fanone, who was injured in the attack, per People.