Jeremy Renner has battled everything from aliens to witches in his films, but in his next project, Kill the Messenger, he tackles something much more sinister: the connection between the U.S. government and the crack epidemic of the 1980s.

The Avengers star plays San Jose Mercury News reporter Gary Webb, who wrote a series of articles that brought to light certain connections between the Reagan administration and the Contras in Nicaragua, who were supposedly working together to funnel drugs into the United States.

Dexter and Homeland director Michael Cuesta helmed the film, which also stars Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Paz Vega, Robert Partrick, Ray Liotta, Oliver Platt, Barry Pepper and Andy Garcia.

Kill the Messenger opens Oct. 10.