Yesterday, we learned that DC Studios has halted production on Sgt. Rock. The movie, written by Justin Kuritzkes and directed by Luca Guadagnino, was in the middle of pre-production in the UK and had started assembling its cast.
We now have additional updates from the trades, starting with The Hollywood Reporter. One insider tells them that "it came down to the project's scheduling needs of shooting outdoors." Deadline, meanwhile, explains, "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."
The UK weather is inconsistent at best, but it's only May, and it's not really until late October/early November that the country starts looking particularly autumnal and then wintery. With that in mind, it's hard to buy into this explanation.
The Hollywood Reporter shares another possible explanation by revealing, "Another source raised the possibility that Guadagnino remained untested in the realm of action movies, and even though the budget was in the $70 million range, a paltry sum for comic book movies, higher-ups may have wavered in their confidence."
Making this news all the more unusual is the fact that Deadline points out, "Guadagnino was scouting locations last week and that the studio was far down the line with Alien: Romulus breakout David Jonsson to join Farrell."
Are we really supposed to believe a movie this far down the line was essentially scrapped because DC Studios was concerned it wouldn't be sunny enough? Something isn't adding up, and James Gunn has yet to weigh in on the news.
Shifting to a 2026 shoot won't be easy; Guadagnino has several projects in the works, including American Psycho, Separate Rooms, and Lord of the Flies. If The Batman Part II happens as planned, Colin Farrell will also need to shoot that at some point next year.
It's not all bad news, though, as according to The Wrap, Clayface is still scheduled to start shooting in October. Fingers crossed it doesn't rain.
As a reminder, Sgt. Rock was set to pair the title character up with a female French resistance fighter to find the mystical Spear of Destiny, the spear used to stab Jesus Christ during his crucifixion, which, in lore, is said to have supernatural properties. They have to find it before the Nazis.
Do you think DC Studios' Sgt. Rock movie will eventually become a reality? As always, let us know your thoughts in the comments section.