First Image: Sean Penn in Pierre Morel‘s THE GUNMAN

Above, you’ll find the first image of Sean Penn from the upcoming action film The Gunman, directed by Pierre Morel (Taken).  The film, which is based on a novel by Jean-Patrick Manchette, stars Penn as a former soldier turned contractor whose violent past catches up with him.

In an interview with USA Today, Penn states that this isn’t going to be just another mindless action flick saying “Calling it an ‘action film’ is kind of like calling Meryl Streep a sexy blonde chick. She is. But that really doesn’t tell the story of what she is at all.”

The Gunman also stars Jasmine Trinca, Javier Bardem, Idris Elba, Ray Winstone, and Mark Rylance.  It’s currently in production in Europe and there’s no release date as of yet.