French director Pierre Morel has inked a deal to helm an upcoming adaptation of Jean-Patrick Manchette's crime novel The Prone Gunman.

Sean Penn is set to star as Martin Terrier, who wants to leave his life as a gun for hire behind him. After attempting to settle down with his childhood sweet heart, the organization he formerly worked for pulls him back into a life of crime. Jean-Patrick Manchette wrote the story, which was translated by James Brooks.

The movie will be serving as Sean Penn's entree into the action world, so it seems right that he is working with the director behind 2009's Taken.

Silver Pictures' Joel Silver and Andrew Rona are producing. No production schedule has been released.