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Draft:Sgt. Rock (film)

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Sgt. Rock
Written byJustin Kuritzkes
Based on
Sgt. Rock
by
Produced by
Production
company
Distributed byWarner Bros. Pictures
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish

Sgt. Rock is an upcoming American superhero film based on the eponymous character from DC Comics. Produced by DC Studios and to be distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures, it will be part of the DC Universe (DCU). The film is written by Justin Kuritzkes.

Several attempts at bringing Sgt. Rock to film were made starting in the late 1980s. By November 2024, Kuritzkes had written the script for a new attempt with DC Studios. Luca Guadagnino and Daniel Craig were in negotiations to direct and star in the title role, respectively. Filming is expected to begin in late 2025.

Production

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Background

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By the late 1980s, Arnold Schwarzenegger was attached to play the DC Comics character Sgt. Rock in a film directed by John McTiernan and produced by Joel Silver.[1][2] Active development began after the trio completed work on their film Predator (1987), in which a Sgt. Rock comic book can be seen.[3] John Milius, David Peoples, and Steven E. de Souza worked on the script during the 1980s.[4][2] Taking inspiration from the comedy war film Imitation General (1958), this version of the film would have included an English cook pretending to be a World War II general who is protected by Schwarzenegger's Sgt. Rock, an Austrian whose family were killed by Nazis.[1][2] Following the success of his film A Fish Called Wanda (1988), John Cleese was Schwarzenegger and McTiernan's choice to portray the English cook. The actor turned them down and McTiernan blamed this for the project falling apart because the idea of Cleese and Schwarzenegger together had become so integral to their vision for the project.[1] De Souza stated that the film was greenlit and location scouting was underway in Yugoslavia when a disagreement between McTiernan and Schwarzenegger, who wanted the film to be made in California, led to the pair both leaving the project.[1] David Gambino, vice president of production for Silver's Dark Castle Entertainment, said Schwarzenegger's version of the film never materialized due to financial issues at the studio.[5] Silver continued to develop the film and Brian Helgeland had written a new draft by July 1996. By May 2000, Renny Harlin and Ridley Scott had both been rumored to direct the film while Bruce Willis and Sylvester Stallone were both rumored to be starring. Other writers attached include Jeffrey Boam, Ebbe Roe Smith, and Janet Peoples.[6]

John Cox was hired to write a new script, unrelated to the previous drafts, in June 2006. The film was still being produced by Silver for distributor Warner Bros. Pictures.[7] Gambino stated in April 2007 that they were happy with Cox's screenplay. He saw casting Sgt. Rock as a big challenge due to needing a "really bulky, muscular guy" to match the comic books. The studio had considered taking inspiration from the film 300 (2007) to make it feel like "a graphic novel come to life", but no direction for the film had been settled on.[5] In May 2008, Silver said he was making the film with Guy Ritchie after the pair had worked together on the film RocknRolla (2008).[8] Ritchie worked on Sgt. Rock's script and planned to direct it.[9] In September, Ritchie said the film was on hold while he worked on Sherlock Holmes (2009).[10] He confirmed that the film would be set in World War II and include the US Army infantry unit Easy Company that is led by Sgt. Rock in the comics. Ritchie expressed interest in casting an unknown actor in the lead role.[11] Silver said they prioritized Sherlock Holmes over Sgt. Rock due to similarities between the latter and Quentin Tarantino's film Inglourious Basterds (2009).[12] Silver also said he sent the script for Sgt. Rock to Tarantino years earlier and believed it inspired him to make Inglourious Basterds.[3] In September 2009, Ritchie signed on to direct a film featuring the DC character Lobo, also produced by Silver, as his follow-up to Sherlock Holmes.[13] Francis Lawrence was attached to direct Sgt. Rock in November from a new script by Chad St. John. Silver and Warner Bros. had wanted the film to be akin to past war films such as The Dirty Dozen (1967), but felt a large budget could not be justified when "period war movies have not been in vogue in Hollywood for years... [and] American jingoism went out of style after 9/11". The studios decided to change the film to have a futuristic setting in hopes that this would alleviate those concerns. Silver was confirmed to still be producing the film along with Andrew Rona and Akiva Goldsman.[9] Ritchie ultimately directed the sequel Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows (2011), a priority for Warner Bros., instead of a Lobo film.[14] In July 2011, he was reported to be working on Sgt. Rock again as his next film and was supervising script rewrites that returned to the original World War II setting.[15] Ritchie moved on to other projects when Sgt. Rock fell apart due to apparent "administrative/rights issues".[16]

Development

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By late November 2024, Justin Kuritzkes had written the script for a Sgt. Rock film that was in development at DC Studios. Luca Guadagnino and Daniel Craig were in negotiations to direct and star in the title role, respectively, after working together with Kuritzkes on the film Queer (2024). Though there was potential for the project to fall apart if the deals with Guadagnino and Craig did not go through, DC Studios was said to be "bullish" on Kuritzkes's script and it was expected to be Guadagnino's next film ahead of his planned adaptation of the novel American Psycho (1991).[17][18] By the end of the year, filming was expected to begin in late 2025.[19] Sgt. Franklin Rock and members of Easy Company were introduced to DC Studios' shared universe, the DC Universe (DCU), in the animated series Creature Commandos (2024–present) which was the first DCU project to be released. Maury Sterling provided the voice for Sgt. Rock, with Sean Gunn as G.I. Robot, Robbie Daymond as Little Sure Shot, and Paul Ben-Victor as Bulldozer. The characters Wildman, Canary, and Four-Eyes also appear in the series.[20]

Filming

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Principal photography is expected to begin in late 2025.[19]

References

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  1. ^ a b c d Bumbray, Chris (May 16, 2024). "Sgt Rock: Arnold Schwarzenegger and John McTiernan's movie was sunk by John Cleese?". JoBlo.com. Archived from the original on July 23, 2023. Retrieved January 3, 2025.
  2. ^ a b c Cecchini, Mike (December 20, 2013). "Steven E. de Souza Talks Commando 2, Sgt. Rock, the Flash Gordon Movie You May Never See, and Much More!". Den of Geek. Archived from the original on January 24, 2021. Retrieved January 3, 2025.
  3. ^ a b Douglas, Edward (February 27, 2014). "The CS Interview: Producer Joel Silver (Literally) Talks Non-Stop". ComingSoon.net. Archived from the original on March 6, 2015. Retrieved January 3, 2025.
  4. ^ Boucher, Geoff (February 1, 2010). "'Sgt. Rock' reloads as movie project -- but not as a WWII story". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on June 25, 2022. Retrieved January 3, 2025.
  5. ^ a b Collura, Scott (April 26, 2007). "Sgt. Rock Movie Update". IGN. Archived from the original on November 15, 2021. Retrieved January 3, 2025.
  6. ^ Vejvoda, Jim (May 25, 2000). "The Stax Report: Script Review of Sgt. Rock". IGN. Archived from the original on October 26, 2012. Retrieved January 3, 2025.
  7. ^ Kit, Borys (June 13, 2006). "Cox locked up for WB's 'Rock' duty". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on June 13, 2006. Retrieved January 3, 2025.
  8. ^ McWeeny, Drew (May 12, 2008). "Moriarty Interviews Joel Silver About Speed Racer! Plus A Scoop On Who's Directing Sgt. Rock!". Ain't It Cool News. Archived from the original on August 14, 2019. Retrieved January 3, 2025.
  9. ^ a b Kit, Borys (November 9, 2009). "'Sgt. Rock' on duty with Francis Lawrence and Chad St. John". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on November 11, 2009. Retrieved January 3, 2025.
  10. ^ Seijas, Casey (September 5, 2008). "Guy Ritchie Says 'Sgt. Rock' Is The Film He (Still) Wants To Make". MTV News. Archived from the original on September 22, 2015. Retrieved January 3, 2025.
  11. ^ Marshall, Rick (December 11, 2008). "Guy Ritchie Says He Has Lead In Mind For 'Sgt. Rock' Movie, But Budget Is Intimidating". MTV News. Archived from the original on January 2, 2016. Retrieved January 3, 2025.
  12. ^ Tilly, Chris (November 12, 2008). "Sgt. Rock Stalls". IGN. Archived from the original on November 20, 2024. Retrieved January 3, 2025.
  13. ^ Fleming, Michael (September 3, 2009). "Guy Ritchie locked for 'Lobo'". Variety. Archived from the original on October 17, 2015. Retrieved January 3, 2025.
  14. ^ Boucher, Geoff (January 27, 2010). "Guy Ritchie sets aside 'Lobo' to make 'Sherlock Holmes' sequel". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on August 24, 2022. Retrieved January 3, 2025.
  15. ^ Brown, Todd (July 12, 2011). "Breaking: Guy Ritchie Back On Sgt Rock". Twitch Film. Archived from the original on July 15, 2011. Retrieved January 3, 2025.
  16. ^ Jagernauth, Kevin (August 19, 2015). "Guy Ritchie Says Brad Pitt Was His First Choice For Napoleon Solo In 'U.N.C.L.E.,' Talks 'Sherlock Holmes 3' Time Travel". The Playlist. Archived from the original on April 12, 2022. Retrieved January 3, 2025.
  17. ^ D'Alessandro, Anthony; Kroll, Justin (November 20, 2024). "Daniel Craig & Luca Guadagnino Eyeing Post 'Queer' Reteam In DC Studios' 'Sgt. Rock' – The Dish". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on November 20, 2024. Retrieved November 20, 2024.
  18. ^ Lang, Brent (November 20, 2024). "Daniel Craig Circling DC Comics Movie 'Sgt. Rock' With 'Queer' Director Luca Guadagnino". Variety. Archived from the original on November 20, 2024. Retrieved November 20, 2024.
  19. ^ a b Sneider, Jeff (December 15, 2024). "Exclusive: Christian Bale to Play Former Raiders Owner Al Davis in David O. Russell's John Madden Movie". The InSneider. Archived from the original on December 15, 2024. Retrieved December 15, 2024.
  20. ^ Oddo, Marco Vito (December 12, 2024). "Creature Commandos: Every DCU Character & Franchise Referenced in Episode 3". ComicBook.com. Archived from the original on December 12, 2024. Retrieved December 12, 2024.
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