Michael Pena, who tends to steal scenes in whatever movie he's in (see: Observe And Report), has joined the heavyweight cast of the 1940s crime drama The Gangster Squad.
Starring Sean Penn, Josh Brolin, and Ryan Gosling as the leads, the film, which has Zombieland director Ruben Fleischer on board as its shotcaller, is based on a seven-part Los Angeles Times article written by Paul Lieberman on how, amidst corruption and chaos, the LAPD's "Gangster Squad" tried to keep the mafia out of the West. Brolin plays John O'Mara, an officer of the law who doesn't fit into the bankfold of gangster Mickey Cohen (Penn). Gosling, meanwhile, will play Sgt. Jerry Wooters, a good cop who loves hooters the bachelor life.
Pena will play an officer looking to prove his worth amongst the team to earn a spot alongside all the action (Anthony Mackie has also been rumored for a role). Audiences will see Pena sooner than this, though, with his co-starring role in Fleischer's next flick, the action-comedy 30 Minutes Or Less (starring Jesse Eisenberg, Danny McBride, and Aziz Ansari).
The Gangster Squad shoots up theaters nationwide sometime in 2013.
[Via Empire]
