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It was recently reported that Daniel Craig is in talks to play Sergeant Stone in a DC Studios film. A classic DC Comics character, Sgt. Rock is certainly a lesser-known character, as most of his stories are set in the 1940s, and his interactions with DC’s most popular superheroes are very limited. That being said, a Sergeant Stone the film is promising considering the character’s comic book history and his skill as a legendary soldier.
Currently, the new DC Universe is scheduled to begin in 2024 Creature Commands animated series and its first live-action film with James Gunn Superman in 2025. While most of the films and shows are expected to be part of the same interconnected cinematic universe, there are also “Elseworlds” projects like Matt Reeves’ Batman trilogy, its spin-off shows, or Todd Phillips Clown films that exist on their own. While it’s unknown what the case will be in this new DC film, here’s everything we know about Sgt. Rock, his history and powers in the comics, Daniel Craig’s involvement and much more.
Sergeant Rock Comics History Explained
A WWII hero debuting in 1959
Created by Robert Kanigher and Joe Kubert, Franklin John Rock first appeared in 1959 GI Combat #68 before receiving a continuous role in Our Army at War #81 in the same year. He would later receive a self-titled series that ran between 1977 and 1988. Originally a boxer, Rock enlisted in 1935 and eventually rose through the ranks to become the leader of Easy Company. Sergeant Rock and his men formed bonds like brothers during the heat of war, serving in several major conflicts during World War II. As such, Rock’s stories took time to explore the moral complexities of war.
As such, Sgt. Rock is exclusively a non-superhero character in DC Comics, although he has had interactions with powerful characters such as Batman and Superman. More recently, Sgt. Rock had a small appearance in 2020 Dark Nights: Death Metal crossover where he gave a pep talk to the readers themselves, a way for Scott Snyder to offer some encouragement during the global pandemic. Similarly, 2022 saw the publication of DC Horror Gifts: Sgt. Rock vs. Army of the Deada 6-issue miniseries written by Bruce Campell with art by Eduardo Risso, where Rock and Easy Company fought Nazi zombies.
Sergeant Rock Powers Explained
An effective soldier and leader of Easy Company
Despite not having powers in the traditional superhero sense, Sgt. Rock is an incredibly capable soldier and commander. As such, Rock is a legendary war hero, capable of shooting down enemy fighters with a single submachine or having incredible accuracy with multiple firearms and explosives. Rock also had what he calls a “Combat Antenna”, a sort of sixth sense where he was able to detect imminent enemy offensives, allowing him to prepare Easy Company for the firefights to come.
Sergeant Rock Comic Changes Explained
Could your story be modernized?
In the comics, Sgt. Rock supposedly died on the battlefield during the last battle of World War II from the last enemy bullet fired. However, the character has been given more than one fate by DC Comics with stories that go beyond World War II, which is primarily where connections to the greater DC Universe begin to come into play. As such, it is unclear in which direction this potential Sergeant Stone the film could, and if its story could be modernized in some way, allowing it to have greater connections to the DCU in general. That said, it is also possible that a Sergeant Stone film could simply be set in its own isolated reality as a Another world project, effectively ignoring its connections to the larger DC Universe (which wouldn’t be hard to do).
Daniel Craig is in talks to play Sgt. Stone
This would be his first superhero role
As first reported by Deadline, Daniel Craig is currently in talks to play Sgt. Rock in an upcoming DC Studios project. Likewise, it was also reported that Oscar-nominated filmmaker Luca Guadagnino will direct, meaning the pair would reunite following their work on Queer scheduled for release in February 2025. The script comes from Justin Kuritzkes, who also wrote the screenplay for Queer like this Challengers (which was also directed by Guadagnino).
How Sergeant Rock fits into the DC universe
Task Force X and Creature Commandos are big comic book connections
In the comics, Sgt. Rock notably saved the lives of Batman and Superman (and even served as President Lex Luthor’s Chief of Staff). However, he also led the first iterations of Task Force X and the Suicide Squad. Likewise, he even had a leading role among The Creature Commandos. To that end, this could easily be the place where Sgt. Rock could plug into the DCU, when and if his film ends up being part of the new cinematic universe. Likewise, Sgt. Rock may even appear in a cameo or receive a reference in the animation Creature Commands series, as the GI Robot from World War II is part of the list. Likewise, Rock could also be one of the team’s early leaders, perhaps even being revealed as Amanda Waller or Rick Flag Sr’s predecessor in the DCU.