EXCLUSIVE: Following their critically acclaimed collaboration on Queer, The Dish hears that Oscar nominated filmmaker Luca Guadagnino and Daniel Craig are getting back together for Sgt. Rock at James Gunn and Peter Safran’s DC Studios. Actually, this is poised to be Guadagnino’s next directorial before Lionsgate’s American Psycho reboot as we hear the screenplay by Challengers and Queer scribe Justin Kuritzkes is in good shape. We’ll let you know when these guys are ready for action.
No deals have been inked yet between DC Studios, Craig and Guadagnino. The film indeed would rep another big project for Safran & Gunn’s slate along with Superman, which is expected to kick off his new DC’s Gods and Monsters Phase One, the Supergirl movie and animated series Creature Commandos which is debuting on Max on Dec. 5.
Script details are under wraps with no word on which issue or issues of Sgt. Rock this project is based on. The character of Sgt. Franklin John Rock was created by Robert Kanigher and Joe Kubert and first appeared in the 1959 DC issue, Our Army at War. He’s a WWII soldier who served in the infantry. The character gained steamed in 1977 when he received his own comic book series, which ran until July 1988. Rock’s talent includes shooting down German plans with a single submachine gun and tossing grenades with great accuracy. When he’s without a gun, he’s a great street fighter, and can survive several gunshot wounds and the scars of battles. He’s a calm guy with heart, but also has a “Combat Antenna” able to detect in an incoming enemy siege.
Guadagnino’s Queer opens limited on November 27 after a world premiere at Venice earlier this fall. The pic counts 78% fresh on Rotten Tomatoes with critics. Craig stars in the feature take of the 1985 William S. Burroughs novella, a fever-dream retelling of the author’s trippy and romantic time living in 1950s Mexico. Queer is the second movie by Guadagnino released this year following his biggest box office success, the Zendaya tennis romantic drama Challengers, which delivered the biggest stateside opening for the Italian filmmaker at $15M, ultimately grossing close to $100M WW.
The 007 alum Craig is up for European Actor at the European Film Awards for his turn in Queer.
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Guadagnino is in post on Amazon MGM Studios’ After the Hunt, starring Julia Roberts. He is represented by CAA, Range Media Partners, and Goodman Genow Schenkman.
Craig is repped by CAA, Independent Talent Group and Glaser Weil Fink.
DC Studios did not return request for comment.