Sean Penn will come aboard to direct “The Comedian” starring Robert De Niro, according to sources. The film was written by Art Linson and Jeffrey Ross and follows De Niro as an aging, bitterly funny stand-up comic. It will go into production in New York next year. Penn’s last di rectorial effort was the 2007 Jon Krakauer adaptation, “Into the Wild.” As a producer, Linson has worked with De Niro on “The Untouchables,” “Heat” and “What Just Hap pened.” Reports from Cannes had erroneously said Martin Scorsese would direct “The Comedian.”