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It’s recently been reported that Daniel Craig is in talks to play Sgt. Rock in a movie by DC Studios. A classic DC Comics character, Sgt. Rock is certainly a lesser-known character as most of his stories are set in the 1940s, and his interactions with DC’s more popular superheroes are very limited. That said, a Sgt. Rock movie does have some promise considering the character’s comic book history and his ability as a legendary soldier.
Currently, the new DC Universe is set to begin with 2024’s Creature Commandos animated series and its first live-action movie with James Gunn’s Superman in 2025. While most movies and shows are expected to be part of the same interconnected cinematic universe, there are also “Elseworlds” projects like Matt Reeves’ The Batman trilogy, its spin-off shows, or Todd Phillips’ Joker movies that exist on their own. While it’s unknown what the case will be for this new DC movie, here’s everything we know about Sgt. Rock, his comic book history and powers, Daniel Craig’s involvement, and more.
Sgt. Rock Comics History Explained
A WWII Hero Debuting In 1959
Created by Robert Kanigher and Joe Kubert, Franklin John Rock first appeared in 1959’s G.I. Combat #68 before receiving an ongoing role in Our Army at War #81 the same year. He’d later receive a self-titled series that ran between 1977 and 1988. Originally a boxer, Rock enlisted in 1935 and eventually rose through the ranks to become the leader of Easy Company. Sgt. Rock and his men formed bonds as brothers during the heat of war, serving in several major conflicts during WWII. As such, Rock’s stories took the time to explore the moral complexities of warfare.
As such, Sgt. Rock is uniquely a non-superhero DC Comics character, though he has had interactions with those of the powered variety, such as Batman and Superman. More recently, Sgt. Rock did have a small appearance in 2020’s Dark Nights: Death Metal crossover where he gave a pep talk to readers themselves, a meta-way for Scott Snyder to offer some encouragement during the global pandemic. Likewise, 2022 saw the publication of DC Horror Presents: Sgt. Rock vs. the Army of the Dead, a 6-issue miniseries written by Bruce Campell with art by Eduardo Risso where Rock and Easy Company fought Nazi zombies.
Sgt. Rock Powers Explained
An Effective Soldier And Leader of Easy Company
Despite not having powers in the traditional superhero sense, Sgt. Rock is an incredibly capable soldier and an effective leader who truly cares about the men under his command. Rock is also a legendary war hero capable of shooting down enemy fighters with a single submachine gun, possessing incredible accuracy with various firearms and explosives. Sgt. Rock also had what he calls his “Combat Antenna”, a sort of sixth sense where he could feel when enemy offensives were imminent, allowing him to prepare Easy Company for the firefights to come up until the very last battle of WWII.
Sgt. Rock Comics Changes Explained
Could His Story Be Modernized?
In the comics, Sgt. Rock is meant to have died on the field of battle during the last battle of WWII by the last enemy bullet that was fired. However, Sgt. Rock has received more than one fate from DC Comics with stories that go beyond WWII. To that end, those post-WWII are mostly where the connections to the greater DC Universe start coming into play.
At the moment, it’s unclear in what direction this potential Sgt. Rock movie might go down. One also has to wonder whether his story might even be modernized in some form, allowing him to have greater connections to the DCU at large. That said, it’s also possible that a Sgt. Rock movie could simply be set in its own isolated reality as an Elseworld project, effectively ignoring his connections to the greater DC Universe and simply focusing on a story set during WWII (which wouldn’t be hard to do).
Daniel Craig Is In Talks To Play Sgt. Rock
This Would Be His First Superhero Role
As was first reported by Deadline, Daniel Craig is currently in talks to play Sgt. Rock in an upcoming movie from DC Studios. Likewise, it’s also been reported that Oscar-nominated filmmaker Luca Guadagnino is set to direct, meaning that the duo would be reuniting following their work on Queer which is set to release in February 2025. The screenplay is coming from Justin Kuritzkes who also wrote the script for Queer as well as Challengers (also directed by Guadagnino).
“Playing Sgt. Rock would serve as Daniel Craig’s first role in a superhero franchise…”
It’s worth mentioning that Daniel Craig was nearly cast as the Asgardian Balder the Brave in 2022’s Doctor Strange in the Multiverse. As Balder, Craig’s character would have been part of the Illuminati before he was unable to participate, leading to John Krasinski being cast as a version of Mister Fantastic as a replacement hero. As such, playing Sgt. Rock would serve as Daniel Craig’s first role in a superhero franchise, assuming the upcoming Sgt. Rock movie is indeed connected to the greater DCU.
How Sgt. Rock Fits Into The DC Universe
Task Force X and Creature Commandos Are Big Comics Connections
As far as Sgt. Rock’s limited interactions with the greater DC Comics universe are concerned, some notable moments on the page do make him an exciting addition to the DCU. In the comics, Sgt. Rock has notably saved the lives of Batman and Superman, and at one point, he even served as President Lex Luthor’s Chief of Staff. However, the most likely connection points would probably be inspired by his connections to Task Force X and The Suicide Squad. Similarly, one version of Sgt. Rock even had a leadership role among The Creature Commandos as seen in 2019’s animated DC Showcase: Sgt. Rock (and was voiced by Karl Urban).
Creature Commandos: Cast, Story Details & Everything We Know
Creature Commandos is set to launch James Gunn and Peter Safran’s DCU reboot in late 2024, here are all the available details on the show so far.
This could easily be how Sgt. Rock might connect in the DCU, when and if his movie does end up part of the new cinematic universe. Ahead of his movie, Sgt. Rock could even be featured in a cameo role or receive a reference in the animated Creature Commandos series, seeing as how WWII’s G.I. Robot is part of the roster and has a history with Easy Company. Likewise, Rock could even be revealed to have been an early leader of the team, perhaps even being Amanda Waller or Rick Flag Sr’s predecessor in the DCU.
Creature Commandos is set to premiere December 5th on Max.
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