The Sgt. Rock DC Movie Is Four Decades In the Making

Comic book fans were shocked to learn that DC Studios is developing a Sgt. Rock movie directed by Luca Guadagnino and starring Daniel Craig. After all, the DCU has yet to announce any project involving some household names like Wonder Woman, Aquaman, and The Flash; however, it may be fitting for Sgt. Rock to be part of the DCU, as the character has struggled to appear in theaters for almost four decades.

First Wave: The Schwarzenegger Era

The first serious attempt to bring Sgt. Rock to the big screen emerged in the late 1980s, riding high on the success of Predator. Fresh off producing that film, Joel Silver assembled an impressive creative team that included Arnold Schwarzenegger and director John McTiernan, both tasked with recreating the success of the 1987 hit. 

Silver had a long-time interest in Sgt. Rock, which is why Shane Black holds a comic book of the character during Predator‘s credit roll. Given the success of Schwarzenegger’s alien-hunting flick, it made sense for him to bet high on bringing DC’s beloved military man to the silver screen.

David Webb Peoples (Blade Runner) delivered the first draft of a Sgt. Rock movie in 1987, a script that caught the attention of Quentin Tarantino himself. One year later, Steven E. de Souza (Die Hard) also finished his version of the script. These drafts were based on an early concept that gave Sgt. Rock a German father – a change that would add a complex emotional layer to the character, while making the best of Schwarzenegger’s Austrian heritage. Surprisingly, the project’s most promising iteration collapsed due to an unexpected factor: the crucial involvement of  Monty Python’s John Cleese. 

In Nick de Semlyan’s book The Last Action Heroes, the author reports how director McTiernan was adamant about casting Monty Python star John Cleese in a key supporting role of Sgt. Rock, viewing him as essential to the film’s success. The idea was that Cleese would play a comedic character that would get Schwarzenegger’s protection and counterbalance his macho energy; however, after meeting with the creative team, Cleese dismissed them as “thug American action-movie makers.” McTiernan later reflected that Cleese might have signed on had he seen their subsequent work on Die Hard, but the rejection effectively killed the momentum, leading to Schwarzenegger’s departure. Instead of Sgt. Rock, the Austrian legend would star in 1990’s Total Recall. 

Silver didn’t give up on his pet project and kept pushing for new versions of the script over the years. John Milius, known for Apocalypse Now and Conan the Barbarian, brought his distinctive voice Sgt. Rock in 1993, while Brian Helgeland’s 1996 draft aimed to modernize the character for contemporary audiences. Yet, it wasn’t until the 2000s that Sgt. Rock seemed it would finally become a reality.

Second Wave: Willis & Ritchie

After Schwarzenegger’s departure, the Sgt. Rock movie entered a new phase in the late 2000s, with Bruce Willis emerging as the potential lead and Guy Ritchie attached to direct. This iteration progressed further than any previous attempt, with extensive pre-production work completed and location scouting underway in Eastern Europe. David Gambino, VP of Silver Pictures, expressed optimism about the movie in April 2007, citing a “fantastic screenplay.” However, this promising development hit a roadblock when Ritchie shifted his focus to direct Sherlock Holmes starring Robert Downey Jr., leading to Willis’s departure. 

In 2010, Silver revealed that the new version of the movie would be a futuristic adventure, uprooting the character from its traditional World War II background. Francis Lawrence (Constantine) briefly stepped in as director, and writer Chad St. John (Replicas) wrote a new draft, but this iteration also failed to gain traction.

As years went by, Sgt. Rock’s popularity slowly faded, diminishing the possibilities of a theatrical adaptation. The first sign DC was still committed to adapting the character came in 2019 with DC Showcase: Sgt. Rock, a 14-minute animated short that was included in the disc release of Batman: Hush. As part of the DC Showcase initiative, the short’s goal was to introduce a less-known character to the audience, potentially measuring the public’s reception before more significant projects. Sadly, despite Karl Urban (The Boys) voicing Sgt. Rock for this version, the limited release strategy didn’t do much to reignite the character’s flame.

The Sgt. Rock Movie Can Finally Be Made as Part of the DCU

With Craig and Guadagnino attached, the current iteration represents a significant departure from previous attempts. Justin Kuritzkes, who collaborated with Guadagnino on Challengers and Queer, has written the screenplay, which is reportedly “in good shape.” However, we don’t know anything else about the movie’s plot.

The timing of the announcement is telling, though. James Gunn recently confirmed multiple R-rated DC productions were under consideration, meaning Sgt. Rock could belong to this group. Furthermore, Creature Commandos will soon reveal the extent of the DCU’s connection to the Easy Company, the military unit that serves under Sgt. Rock. Since Creature Commandos is a mature (and bloody!) TV show, it would make sense for the Sgt. Rock movie to be rated R.

Creature Commandos will premiere exclusively on Max on Thursday, December 5th. We’ll report any development on the Sgt. Rock movie.