Posted in: Movies, Warner Bros | Tagged: Sgt. Rock

Sgt. Rock: Peter Safran Praises The "Wonderful Screenplay"

Peter Safran has praised Justin Kuritzkes's screenplay for Sgt. Rock, calling it "wonderful" and "that's what catapulted that project to the forefront."

Sgt. Rock has been in development hell for a long time, but we only found out about a more modern attempt back in September. When the writer and director were announced, people were surprised and very intrigued. Writer Justin Kuritzkes and director Luca Guadagnino were coming to the second half of two movie years with the first one, Challengers, not only being a critical smash but also finding that perfect niche audience that a film like that needs to find. For a moment, it sounded like Daniel Craig was going to be the star of Sgt. Rock, but the other day, it was confirmed that that wasn't the case. When James Gunn and Peter Safran did an update on all of the DC projects, it was revealed that Craig wasn't ever in the run (via Deadline). Safran also added, "What we love about SGT Rock is the opportunity to tell a story about heroism and conflict in compelling and unique way. Justin really wrote a wonderful screenplay, and that's what catapulted that project to the forefront." They are still looking for a star but would like to shoot sometime this summer.

The existence of projects like Sgt. Rock and Clayface is proof of Gunn and Safran's commitment to being "writer-driven." As Gunn explained in The Hollywood Reporter, "We are writer-driven. We are not going to greenlight or put anything into production until we are happy with the script….It is hard enough making a good movie with a good script; it's almost impossible to make a movie with a script that you're writing on the run." We have heard nothing but positive things about both of these scripts. Considering how out of left field they are in terms of projects you would expect, there does seem to be some truth in the "writer-driven" concept they are pushing.

Sgt. Rock: A WW2 Comic Book Hero With A Long Stint In Development Hell

Sgt. Rock, or Franklin John Rock, was first introduced in Our Army at War #83 in June 1983 from DC Comics. He was created by writer Robert Kanigher and artist Joe Kubert. He has been popping around the DC Universe as a member of various teams, including the United States Army, Suicide Squad, and the Creature Commandos. People have been trying to make a Sgt. Rock movie for as long as some of you who are reading this article have been alive (the late 1980s/early 1990s). Arnold Schwarzenegger was set to star at one point because, of course, he was, and the film went through multiple different screenplays over the years. Eventually, Schwarzenegger was dropped, but there was some movement on the project in the early 2000s with rumors saying Bruce Willis might star and Guy Ritchie would direct, but nothing ever really came from it. The project continued to shift directions, including what time period it could potentially take place in, heading into the 2010s before the project faded into the depths of development hell.

Sgt. Rock is now in the new DC Universe, and that seemed to be the thing that brought all this back to the forefront. He appeared in a flashback in Creature Commandos, voiced by Maury Sterling, and we all know that the DC Universe is supposed to be pretty interconnected these days. Last September, we got word that Luca Guadagnino, of all people, was going to direct a Sgt. Rock movie with Justin Kuritzkes set to write the script. Guadagnino and Kuritzkes worked on Challengers and Queer in 2024, the first of which has gathered some critical acclaim and the latter of which was painfully overlooked by all of you. In November, it was reported that Daniel Craig was in talks to star, thus reuniting the team from Queer, but it sounds like the ink was never officially dry on any contracts. There are no other details or a release date.

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