Another promising DC project has hit the brakes. Colin Farrell was set to suit up as WWII icon Sgt. Rock in a new superhero action film from acclaimed filmmaker Luca Guadagnino, but those plans have officially been shelved, at least for now.
According to Deadline, the production, which was supposed to begin filming this summer in England, has been halted. And it’s unclear whether the project is merely on pause or completely off the table. No one at DC Studios has offered any public comment, and the reason behind the stoppage has not been revealed.
The film would have seen Farrell in the role of Sgt. Franklin John Rock, a battle-hardened infantry leader first introduced in DC’s Our Army at War #83 back in 1959. Created by Robert Kanigher and Joe Kubert, Sgt. Rock became one of DC’s most enduring war heroes, even earning his own series that ran from 1977 to 1988.
The movie was being developed under the current DC Studios regime led by James Gunn and Peter Safran. Farrell signed on to play Rock after Daniel Craig, who had briefly circled the role, decided not to move forward. Craig had been considering the film as a potential reunion with Guadagnino, with whom he previously worked on A24’s Queer.
Pre-production had already started, and casting was underway. Guadagnino was working again with screenwriter Justin Kuritzkes, his collaborator on Challengers and Queer.
Guadagnino’s next film is After the Hunta #MeToo thriller starring Julia Roberts, Andrew Garfield, and Ayo Edebiri, and it’s set to hit theaters on October 10 via Amazon MGM Studios.
He’s also set to direct a reboot of American Psycho for Lionsgate, so his dance card remains full even as Sgt. Rock falls to the sidelines.
Whether DC is simply reshuffling its priorities or this project is another casualty of studio pivoting remains to be seen. But for now, Sgt. Rock has been placed on the shelf.
