A reunion between Daniel Craig and director Luca Guadagnino is going to have to wait. THR reports Craig has dropped out of the DC Studios project Sgt. Rock, which is to be directed by Guadagnino. The two recently worked together on the William S. Burroughs adaptation Queer.
Sgt. Rock isn’t a superhero, nor does he have any powers. He is a WWII U.S. Army soldier, a crack shot with a gun, and a leader in Easy Company. He first appeared in Joe Kubert and Robert Kanigher’s Our Army at War comic in 1959. This being comic books, Sgt. Frank Rock managed to survive the fighting and find action in modern times alongside heroes including Batman, Superman, the Suicide Squad, and the Creature Commandos. Gee, who REALLY likes those characters? James Gunn does, that’s who.
The film has a script by writer Justin Kuritzkes, who previously wrote Queer and Challengers for Guadagnino.
As for reasons why Craig dropped out, the report’s sources say it could have to do with scheduling conflicts related to his wife, actress Rachel Weisz. Another reason could have to do with the lukewarm response to Queer, which failed to do much after being pegged as an awards season favorite. If it’s the latter, we might not see Craig work with Guadagnino in the future at all.
Coming up for Craig is a return as Detective Benoit Blanc in Rian Johnson’s Wake Up Dead Man later this year. The search is on for a new actor to lead Sgt. Rock.
