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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 1987, Arnold Schwarzenegger was attached to play the DC Comics character Sgt. Rock in a film directed by John McTiernan and produced by Joel Silver. Active development began after the trio completed work on their film Predator (1987), in which a Sgt. Rock comic book can be seen.[1][2] David Peoples wrote a first draft of the script by August 1987,[3] while Predator co-star Shane Black wrote a version that took inspiration from the comedy war film Imitation General (1958). This 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][4] With the success of his film A Fish Called Wanda (1988), John Cleese was Schwarzenegger and McTiernan's choice to play the English cook, but he turned them down.[1] Steven E. de Souza, who wrote the Schwarzenegger films Commando (1985) and The Running Man (1987), wrote a new script for Sgt. Rock in just two weeks after the 1988 Writers Guild of America strike. He said the film was green-lit and location scouting was underway in Yugoslavia when a disagreement between McTiernan and Schwarzenegger, who wanted to film in California, led to them both leaving the project.[4] McTiernan blamed Cleese's rejection for the project falling apart, saying the idea of Cleese and Schwarzenegger together had become integral to their vision.[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.[5]

Renny Harlin expected to direct Sgt. Rock by June 1993, after working with Silver on Die Hard 2 (1990) and The Adventures of Ford Fairlane (1990), with a script by John Milius which Silver compared to the films Battleground (1949) and The Guns of Navarone (1961).[6] Brian Helgeland wrote a new draft by July 1996. Writers Jeffrey Boam, Ebbe Roe Smith, and Janet Peoples had all worked on the film by May 2000. Before then, Ridley Scott was rumored to direct the film while Bruce Willis and Sylvester Stallone were both rumored to be starring at different points.[7] John Cox was hired to write a new script, separate from the previous drafts, in June 2006. The film was still being produced by Silver for distributor Warner Bros. Pictures.[8] 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] Following the release of his film Grindhouse (2007), Quentin Tarantino was asked to direct Sgt. Rock. Silver sent him a draft of the script written by David Peoples which Tarantino said was "magnificent", though he chose not to direct the film.[2][9]

In May 2008, Silver said he was making the film with Guy Ritchie after the pair worked together on the film RocknRolla (2008).[10] Ritchie worked on Sgt. Rock's script and planned to direct it.[11] In September, Ritchie said the film was on hold while he worked on Sherlock Holmes (2009).[12] 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.[13] Silver said they prioritized Sherlock Holmes over Sgt. Rock due to similarities between the latter and Tarantino's film Inglourious Basterds (2009),[14] which Silver believed had been inspired by the Sgt. Rock script.[2] In September 2009, Ritchie signed on to direct a film featuring the DC character Lobo as his follow-up to Sherlock Holmes.[15] In November, Francis Lawrence was attached to direct Sgt. Rock from a new script by Chad St. John. Silver was confirmed to still be producing the film along with Andrew Rona and Akiva Goldsman. The producers wanted the film to be akin to 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". They decided to change the film to have a futuristic setting in hopes that this would alleviate those concerns.[11][16] Ritchie directed the sequel Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows (2011), a priority for Warner Bros., instead of a Lobo film.[17] In July 2011, he was reported to be working on Sgt. Rock again and was supervising script rewrites that returned to the original World War II setting.[18] Ritchie moved on to other projects when Sgt. Rock fell apart due to apparent "administrative/rights issues".[19]

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).[20][21] Journalist Jeff Sneider reported that filming would begin in late 2025 to be ready for an "ideal" release date around Memorial Day in May 2026;[22][23] by December 2024, DC Studios had reserved the release date of May 29, 2026, for an unspecified film.[24] Sgt. Franklin Rock and members of Easy Company were introduced to DC Studios' shared universe, the DC Universe (DCU), in the first season of the animated series Creature Commandos (2024–25) which was the first DCU project to be released. Maury Sterling voiced 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 are also mentioned in the series.[25]

Filming

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Principal photography is expected to begin in late 2025.[22][23]

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 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.
  3. ^ Peoples, David Webb (August 1987). ""Sgt Rock" by David Webb Peoples". DailyScript.com. Archived from the original on February 4, 2025. Retrieved February 4, 2025.
  4. ^ a b 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.
  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. ^ Archerd, Army (June 28, 1993). "Stallone, Snipes stray from set". Variety. Archived from the original on October 17, 2021. Retrieved January 28, 2025.
  7. ^ 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.
  8. ^ 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.
  9. ^ Barfield, Charles (July 1, 2021). "Quentin Tarantino Would Love To Remake 'First Blood' With Adam Driver & Kurt Russell & Contemplated Making 'Sgt. Rock'". The Playlist. Archived from the original on July 1, 2021. Retrieved February 4, 2025.
  10. ^ 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.
  11. ^ 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.
  12. ^ 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.
  13. ^ 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.
  14. ^ Tilly, Chris (November 12, 2008). "Sgt. Rock Stalls". IGN. Archived from the original on November 20, 2024. Retrieved January 3, 2025.
  15. ^ Fleming, Michael (September 3, 2009). "Guy Ritchie locked for 'Lobo'". Variety. Archived from the original on October 17, 2015. Retrieved January 3, 2025.
  16. ^ 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.
  17. ^ 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.
  18. ^ 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.
  19. ^ 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.
  20. ^ 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.
  21. ^ 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.
  22. ^ 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.
  23. ^ a b Sneider, Jeff (January 17, 2025). "Exclusive: Andy Samberg to Produce 'I.P. Man' Film From Ryan Ridley Based on Dollar Tree's 'Final Faction' Toy Line". The InSneider. Archived from the original on January 18, 2025. Retrieved January 17, 2025. – via Ruimy, Jordan (January 17, 2025). "Luca Guadagnino's 'Sgt Rock' Shoots This Fall; Memorial Day 2026 Release?". World of Reel. Archived from the original on January 17, 2025. Retrieved January 17, 2025.
  24. ^ D'Alessandro, Anthony (December 13, 2024). "DC Studios Dates 'Clayface' For Fall 2026; Animated 'Dynamic Duo' For 2028". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on December 13, 2024. Retrieved December 13, 2024.
  25. ^ 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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