James Gunn delivered DC fans some good and bad news about the fate of “Sgt. Rock” on Friday. The good news is that the World War II-set DCU film will still move forward. The bad news is that Luca Guadagnino will no longer be attached to direct the project.
Guadagnino was initially set to direct the DC war movie with Justin Kuritzkes attached as a screenwriter. The two had a double team-up last year when they worked together on both “Challengers” and “Queer.” In April, TheWrap exclusively learned that Guadagnino had dropped out of the project, putting its fate in jeopardy.
Gunn appeared on Josh Horowitz’s “Happy Sad Confused” podcast as the final leg of a lengthy press tour for “Superman.” During the interview, Gunn noted that “Sgt. Rock” was not dead — Guadagnino would simply no longer be attached.
“‘Sgt. Rock’ seemed like it was very close,” Horowitz said during a conversation about upcoming DC projects. “Do you still have hopes that it’s going to come back around relatively soon?”
“Hugely,” Gunn replied. “I’m really excited about ‘Sgt. Rock.’”
“And with Luca still involved?” Horowitz asked.
“No,” Gunn said. You can watch the clip — and the full interview — below.
First appearing in 1959’s “Our Army at War #83,” Sgt. Rock is the tough, grizzled leader of the Easy Company. Created by Robert Kanigher and Joe Kubert, Sgt. Rock is an archetypal leader within the DC universe, a man inextricably linked to the war.
Guadagnino’s exit reportedly came as a result of a scheduling issue, as the exterior shoots necessary for the war comic adaptation created the need for a production start in summer 2025. When this couldn’t be met, DC tabled the project with the potential to return to it later.
“Sgt. Rock” has gone through a few different iterations already. At one point, Daniel Craig (who recently worked with Guadagnino and Kurtizkes on “Queer”) was going to portray the titular military man. He eventually dropped out, with Colin Farrell (who portrays “The Penguin” in the non-DCU Matt Reeves “The Batman” universe) most recently eyed to star.
“Sgt. Rock” was far from the only upcoming DC project Gunn spoke about with Horowitz. The DCU architect shared that “The Authority” (which Gunn called a passion project) is still on his mind but has “been a rough road.” The Engineer, who was portrayed by María Gabriela de Faría in “Superman,” is a member of The Authority in DC Comics.
Gunn continued to emphasize his current commitment to introducing Wonder Woman to the DCU (“I’m excited about, very very excited about ‘Wonder Woman’ right now”), though he said that characters like Flash and Aquaman are more than two years away from hitting the big screen.
The director likewise confirmed that a follow-up to “Superman” is on the way, though he would not call it a “Superman” sequel. Gunn likewise said the film is neither a “Batman/Superman: World’s Finest” team-up nor a “Batman vs. Superman” feature.
“Superman is very important,” Gunn said.
Gunn confirmed that fans would hear about the “Superman” follow-up, which he will write and direct next, “sooner than later.”
You can watch the full “Happy Sad Confused” episode in the vide above.
