Sean Penn is in talks to star in Cartel, a drama for Universal Pictures and Imagine Entertainment.
Asger Leth will direct and Brian Grazer is producing, says Variety.
Written by Peter Craig, the mission movie will follow Ed Marker as he journeys to protect his son after his wife is brutally murdered in the gritty world of Mexican cartels.
Robert Stone and Webster Stone will executive produce.
The studio and Imagine want to get the picture into production by summer.
