Denzel Washington is in talks to star in the John Lee Hancock-written thriller Little Things at Warner Bros, Deadline has confirmed.

The Oscar-winning actor will step into the role of Deke, a burned out Kern County sheriff who teams with LA County Sheriff’s Department detective, Baxter, to reel in a wily serial killer. Deke’s nose for the “little things” (hence the title of the movie) proves eerily accurate, but his willingness to circumvent the rules embroils Baxter in a soul-shattering dilemma. All the while, Deke wrestles with a dark secret from his past. Hancock, who directed The Blindside and Highway Men, is circling the directing chair at Little Things.

Washington recently starred in The Equalizer 2 and is set to direct Journal for Jordan, Sony Pictures’ upcoming adaptation of Pulitzer-winning journalist Dana Cadendy’s bestselling memoir. Oscar-nominated Mudbound scribe Virgil Williams wrote the script while Michael B. Jordan will produce this via his Outlier Society production company and is in talks to star.

Deadline’s sister publication Variety was the first to report the news.