I can see Jim Carrey, but Sean Penn? Seems weird to me!

Sean Penn has signed on to star in the upcoming film, The Three Stooges, playing Larry. Jim Carrey is in negotiations to play Curly and Benicio del Toro is possibly being considered to play the trio’s slap-stick leader, Moe, Hollywood Reporter reports.

The film — which will not be a biopic but a fictional treatment that will be updated for modern audiences — has been an ongoing project of the Farrelly brothers and MGM for years.

Peter and Bobby Farrelly — who have been behind such films as Dumb & Dumber, There’s Something About Mary and The Heartbreak Kid — wrote the original script, which was at one point structured similarly to the Stooges’ classic short films by featuring a story that would’ve spanned over three installments of roughly 30 minutes each. They have since streamlined it into a single narrative.

“When the economy started turning, we felt like the world could use a Stooges slapfest,” Peter said last year. “Bobby and I haven’t done a real physical comedy in a while, and it’s the most exciting thing we could think of now, to have people go to the movie, see some great slapstick fun family humor.”

MGM plans to start production in the fall for a 2010 release slot.

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