DC Studios’ “Sgt. Rock” is going on leave — but it may not be permanent.
The World War II picture, which “Queer” and “Challengers” director Luca Guadagnino was aiming to direct starring Colin Farrell, is no longer in development at the studio, Variety has confirmed. But the reasons aren’t creative: According to a knowledgable source, the need for exterior location shooting in the U.K. required a summer start date that the production couldn’t make, and filming in the winter was a non-starter. So the studio has put the project on hold with the hope that it can start up again in 2026, though Guadagnino’s continued involvement remains unclear.
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DC Studios co-chiefs James Gunn and Peter Safran were keen on making “Sgt. Rock” on the strength of the screenplay by frequent Guadagnino screenwriter Justin Kuritzkes, seeing the movie as a period adventure film rather than a classic comic book superhero flick. The character first debuted in 1959 as a U.S. Army non-commissioned officer who commands the Easy Company unit as they battle Nazis during WWII.
Daniel Craig first circled the title role in the fall, though he never formally signed on; when he passed, Guadagnino and DC turned to Farrell, who’d just earned strong notices for his lead performance on DC Studios’ HBO series “The Penguin.” Farrell is expected to reprise that role in Matt Reeves’ “The Batman Part II,” which was also recently delayed from an Oct. 2, 2026 release date to Oct. 1, 2027.
TheWrap first posted the news about “Sgt. Rock” ceasing development.
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