What’s next for Sean Penn after “One Battle After Another” hits theaters this weekend? If some critics are to be believed, lots of awards season success for the actor, who will no doubt receive nominations for his turn as Col. Steven J. Lockjaw in Paul Thomas Anderson‘s latest. But what about after that?
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In a new interview with Vanity Fair, Penn confirmed he’ll return to the director’s chair next year, a project that’ll star a UK actor he’s never worked with before. “I’m making a movie with Tom Hardy, which we can’t shoot until next summer because Tom is busy with the mob show [Guy Ritchie‘s “MobLand” over at Paramount+]. I just think he’s extraordinary.”
A Penn-Hardy team-up? That doesn’t sound too bad on paper, but Penn didn’t disclose additional info about the project. And given his filmography as a director, it really could be anything. Whatever it ends up being, let’s hope it’s not another disaster like Penn’s last two narrative films, 2016’s “The Last Face” and 2021’s “Flag Day.” Both of those films bombed big time at their Cannes Film Festival world premieres, with neither one receiving wide theatrical releases.
But Penn’s work as a director before then is commendable, with 2006’s “Into The Wild” and 1999’s “The Pledge” arguably his greatest efforts. Don’t sleep on “The Indian Runner” either, Penn’s 1991 directorial debut and a little-seen gem starring a young Viggo Mortensen, David Morse, Dennis Hopper, Patricia Arquette, and Charles Bronson.
As for Hardy, he’s coming off “Havoc,” Gareth Evans‘ gritty actioner over at Netflix. Of course, there’s “MobLand,” too, where he plays a fixer for a London crime family run by Pierce Brosnan and Helen Mirren. Paramount+ renewed the show in June after a critically acclaimed first season, which was the streamer’s biggest global series launch with 2.2 million viewers. Other recent work for Hardy includes last year’s “Venom: The Last Dance” and Jeff Nichols‘ “The Bikeriders.”
Stay tuned for more details on Penn’s new movie with Hardy as they arrive, and it’s a safe bet there won’t be anything until after the 2026 awards season.
