It’s the end of the fight for Sgt. Rock, the DC Studios World War 2 film that might have starred Penguin actor Colin Farrell as the titular character with director Luca Guadagnino at the helm and a script from Challengers and Queer scribe Justin Kuritzkes.
The movie was in pre-production, with filming set to take place in the UK, but according to The Hollywood Reporter the project will no longer be moving forward as part of the upcoming DCU slate.
The outlet also claimed DC Studios was in the middle of building out the cast for the project, with Challengers star Mike Faist in talks for a part, and an undisclosed actress cast in the role of a French resistance fighter. The World War 2 film would have seen combat unit Easy Company battle Nazi forces in Europe.
THR touched on a potential story for the film, which would have seen Sgt. Rock join forces with the female French resistance fighter character in a bid to find the Spear of Destiny before the Nazis. In DC lore, the Spear of Destiny was used to pierce the side of Christ while he was on the cross and has supernatural properties.
The reason for giving this project the axe? Well, it’s unclear. One source at THR said it was the project’s requirements for shooting outside that have put it in this position, while another claimed that despite Guadagnino’s resume, his lack of superhero movie experience had execs wary of his ability to produce results.
According to the first source, the film isn’t entirely dead and would be “re-assessed at the end of the year for a possible summer shoot in 2026,” but whether or not that actually comes to pass obviously remains to be seen.
The first news of the project came back in November 2024, when Daniel Craig was reportedly set to star. Sgt. Rock was created by Robert Kanigher and Joe Kubert and had his comic debut in 1959.
James Gunn’s rebooted DCU kicks off proper with this July’s Superman, and is followed by Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow in 2026, with a cameo from Jason Momoa’s Lobo. The DCU Clayface movie is set for September 2026.
Photo by Rodin Eckenroth/Getty Images.
Lex Briscuso is a film and television critic and a freelance entertainment writer for IGN. You can follow her on Twitter at @nikonamerica.
