Although he’s one of our greatest actors, it’s no secret that Robert De Niro hasn’t quite been living up to expectations with his recent career choices. Last year saw a bit of a spark with his entertaining role in David O. Russell‘s Silver Linings Playbook (and he’ll reteam with him again for American Hustle), and we’re hopeful for Luc Besson‘s Malavita this fall. But now one of his most promising roles in years is on the horizon.

According to Variety, De Niro is the latest actor to join Candy Store, from Stephen Gaghan. With an ensemble already including Jason Clarke and Omar Sy, the crime-thriller follows an elite, highly trained deep-cover operative who loses everything, ultimately disappearing into Brooklyn. He then learns the global organization he was dedicated to fighting is now operating in his new backyard and he teams with a former cop to save the world.

With De Niro set to take the cop role, we’re quite looking forward to what this has in store. It’s been a long time since we’ve seen Gaghan, writer of Traffic and writer-director of Syriana, produce any new work, so let’s hope this lives up to his previous projects. There’s also been rumors that Denzel Washington, Brad Pitt, Jamie Foxx, Christoph WaltzChris HemsworthChristian Bale, Matt Damon, Ben Affleck and Bradley Cooper were all interested at some point, but we’re doubtful any of them will come to the table at this point. Check back for updates as they roll in, with production aiming to kick off this year.

Do you think this is De Niro’s most promising role in some time?

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