Colin Farrell Set to Play Sgt. Rock in James Gunn’s DC Universe (But What About Penguin?)

Colin Farrell is circling another DC role with a report that The Penguin actor will portray Sgt. Rock in an upcoming project in James Gunn’s new DC Universe. Deadline reports Colin Farrell is taking the titular role in Sgt. Rock from director Luca Guadagnino, and while there may be some confusion since Farrell also portrays Oz Cobb in The Batman spinoff The Penguin, the two projects aren’t related. The Batman and The Penguin are a part of what DC Studios is dubbing “Elseworlds,” which are stories taking place outside the main DC Universe. James Gunn and Peter Safran have rebooted the DCU after coming on board as co-CEOs of DC Studios.

Additionally, the outlet states Colin Farrell is looking to juggle Sgt. Rock with his other Hollywood commitments, which include Season 2 of Apple TV+’s Sugar, The Ballad of a Small Player by Edward Berger, and Sony’s upcoming romantic drama A Big Bold Beautiful Journey that pairs Farrell with Margot Robbie and Phoebe Waller-Bridge.

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Daniel Craig was originally reported to be up for the role of Sgt. Rock but ended up dropping out. DC Studios was said to be “hoping to shoot the feature this summer” while it looked for Craig’s replacement, which it may have found in Colin Farrell. The Hollywood Reporter heard from some sources that scheduling issues were the reason why Craig backed out, as allegedly, Craig’s schedule “ran into some roadblocks with that of his wife, actress Rachel Weisz.” Another possibility is that the actor dropped out because the drama Queer, Craig’s previous collaboration with Guadagnino, underperformed commercially and on the awards circuit.

Created by Robert Kanigher and Joe Kubert, Sgt. Rock debuted in 1959’s Our Army at War #83. The World War II hero soon became one of the most popular military characters in comics, with the Our Army at War series being retitled to simply Sgt. Rock. Even though Sgt. Rock has no explicitly stated metahuman abilities, he’s been shown to withstand several gunshot wounds along with extranormal strength and endurance. And similar to Spider-Man’s “spider-sense,” Sgt. Rock possesses a “Combat Antenna” that warns him of impending danger.

Colin Farrell won several awards for his portrayal of Oz Cobb in The Penguin. The actor won the award for Best Performance by an Actor in a Limited Series or Motion Picture Made for Television at the 2025 Golden Globes in January. It marked Farrell’s third Golden Globe win and his first in the category following wins for the films In Bruges (2008) and The Banshees of Inisherin (2022).

“No one to thank on this one. I did it all by myself. Just a raw, pared-away performance,” Farrell joked in his acceptance speech. “35, 34… [There are] too many people to thank. You all know it takes a village, whether it’s on the small screen or the big screen. I’m here on the backs of the talents of so many people through the years, maybe this one more than others.”

ComicBook also named Colin Farrell’s Oz Cobb The Best Male TV Character in our 2024 Golden Issue Awards. Let us know what you think about this latest DC casting in the comments below!