Brolin Replaces Penn In Cartel

JOSH BROLIN has stepped in to replace pal SEAN PENN in upcoming crime film CARTEL.

Penn was the first choice to play the lead in the film about a man battling the Mexican drug cartel bosses who killed his wife.

The movie was one of several projects Penn pulled out of in June (09) - when he took a hiatus from film for undisclosed personal reasons. His announcement came two months before his estranged wife Robin Wright Penn filed for divorce.

Brolin is scheduled to begin shooting Cartel in January (10) in Mexico City, reports Variety.