Following up on the story they first reported in late March, Deadline writes today that Sean Penn, Ryan Gosling and Josh Brolin are all in talks for roles in Gangster Squad, the crime drama to be directed by Zombieland's Ruben Fleischer. Penn would play the key historical role of L.A. mobster Mickey Cohen, while Gosling and Brolin would be the cops assigned to take him down.

The project, referred to at one point as Tales from the Gangster Squad and offered to both Ben Affleck and Darren Aronofsky before Fleischer got the job last December. It's based on a series of articles that journalist Paul Lieberman wrote for The Los Angeles Times, and contains the kind of juicy, flashy history that would make a great movie even without a dynamite cast attached. Seriously, there must be something really great going on here to get Sean Penn committed-- the guy has made a habit lately of circling movies and then dropping them in order to, I dunno, spend more time with girlfriend Scarlett Johansson or something. Granted, he hasn't yet closed the deal for this film, but it's looking like we'll get to see him put on his gangster suit before too long.