Stephen Gaghan, the Oscar winning screenwriter behind Traffic, has sold the distribution rights to his upcoming untitled action thriller to Lionsgate. According to itali|Variety, the writer will direct the film next spring.

Gaghan will pen the script with Shannon Burke. The story follows an elite undercover operative who loses everything when he attempts to take down a global organization. He disappears, reemerging years later as a Brooklyn street cops. He soon finds out that the bad guys are operating out of his own back yard, and must finish what he started.

The film will find its way into theaters in early 2011.