DC Just Canceled Its Most Unnecessary New Movie

The superhero industry works in mysterious ways, but DC Studios and its ongoing reboot are more convoluted than they have any right to be. Co-chairs James Gunn and Peter Safran are making plans without much rhyme or reason, at least from the outside looking in. Their initial plans for the first “chapter” of the new DC Universe, “Gods and Monsters,” are being rewritten time and again. Projects that should be foundational to the reboot, like The Authority and Waller, have been stuck in purgatory, while films that feel entirely random — like villain spinoff Clayface — are getting priority treatment.

But no strategy has been more baffling than that involving Sgt. Rock, a film with few ties to the larger DCU. Luca Guadagnino and Justin Kuritzkes, the director-writer duo behind Challengers and Queer, were attached to develop the film, while The Penguin’s Colin Farrell was in talks to star. Given Guadagnino’s arthouse roots, it was hard to envision his take on a superhero project — and Farrell’s own involvement with the DCU made his potential casting all the more dubious. But Gunn and Safran doubled down on the new project all the same, fast-tracking the film for a summer production. It seemed like a lot of effort for a story that seemed to come out of nowhere — and after months of earnest prep work, it might have been all for naught.

Sgt. Rock has hit a snag before it could suit up for battle. Per The Hollywood Reporter, DC just made the call to shelve the project, which was already in “the throes of casting” the characters who would have supported Farrell’s leading man. Insiders revealed that Challengers star Mike Faist and Alien: Romulus’ David Jonsson were set to co-star, and Guadagnino was also searching for an actress to play a “French resistance fighter” opposite Farrell. The film would have followed Sergeant Franklin Rock and his squad, Easy Company, on a mission to retrieve the Spear of Destiny, a mythical weapon used in the crucifixion of Jesus Christ. Sgt. Rock was reportedly set during World War II, and would have pit Rock against a group of Nazis hunting for the Spear as well.

There’s no clear-cut reason behind Sgt. Rock’s shelving, but it may not be permanent. According to insiders who spoke to Deadline, the film was facing scheduling difficulties: “Ultimately, shooting this summer was untenable, as the team would have had to rush through prep to hit the right weather conditions at the right time.” Sgt. Rock is being shot in the U.K., and unwieldy weather would have made it virtually impossible to shoot exteriors.

There’s a chance that DC will revisit the project in 2026, but it’s not currently moving forward into production. Hopefully this setback will see Gunn and Safran reprioritizing more pressing projects. The DC slate needs a sense of harmony now more than ever, and random projects like Sgt. Rock aren’t helping this reboot feel any more cohesive.