Actors Sean Penn, Ryan Gosling, and Josh Brolin are all in talks to star in The Gangster Squad for Warner Bros.

The project, which was previously known as Tales From the Gangster Squad, centers on a special unit of the Los Angeles Police Department in the 1940s which was tasked with ridding the city of gangster Mickey Cohen and his crime operation.

Sean Penn is in talks to star as Mickey Cohen, while Ryan Gosling and Josh Brolin will play two of the elite cops charged with taking down Cohen. We reported last month that Sean Penn and Ryan Gosling were offered the roles. The studio is now in negotiations with both actors and Josh Brolin.

Zombieland director Ruben Fleischer will take the helm on The Gangster Squad, working from a script by former L.A.P.D. officer Will Beall. Dan Lin and Kevin McCormick will produce for Warner Bros.

It isn't clear when The Gangster Squad will go into production.