Sean Penn to direct drama inspired by January 6th police officer

Sean Penn will direct a new drama inspired by real experiences of a January 6 cop, with Bradley Cooper reportedly in talks to take the lead role, according to Deadline.

The untitled project will follow a police officer who becomes caught up in the events surrounding the 2021 attack on the US Capitol. Cooper is expected to play the central character.

The film has been described as a passion project for Penn, who will write and direct the drama. It is also said to be inspired by a real-life story, with the identity of the person at the centre of the project remaining undisclosed.

Penn has been an outspoken critic of Donald Trump for years and attended a January 6 House committee hearing in 2022.

“I think we all saw what happened on January 6, and now we’re looking to see if justice comes on the other side of it,” he said to the

On January 6 2021, thousands of Donald Trump supporters stormed the US Capitol in Washington, D.C. in an attempt to stop Congress from certifying Joe Biden's victory in the 2020 presidential election. The attack left several people dead, and over a hundred police officers were injured.

Penn's project reunites him with Warner Bros., following his acclaimed performance in One Battle After Another, which earned him the Oscar for best supporting actor.

Production is expected to begin in mid-2027, pending Cooper's commitments to the next Ocean's film.