High-Profile Colin Farrell Movie Cancelled

The war is over for Sgt. Rock. The WW2-set action film from DC Studios has been cancelled.

It’s a surprising move from DC—the company hired one of the biggest directors on the planet in Luca Guadagnino to helm it, and Colin Farrell to star.

Originally, Daniel Craig was set to play Sgt. Rock, but the role was passed to Colin Farrell after Craig dropped out.

Sgt. Rock was based on a comic of the same name from DC, and is more akin to an Indiana Jones-esque adventure than anything resembling a superhero film. The titular sergeant is merely a regular U.S. Army soldier gunning down Nazis, with no superhuman abilities in sight.

The film’s storyline would’ve seen the sergeant trying to locate the mythical Spear of Destiny, the spear used to pierce the abdomen of Jesus Christ during the crucifixion, which has supernatural abilities the Nazis want to get their hands on.

The film was almost done with casting, and many major roles had already been locked in. For example, Mike Faist, who had a starring role in Guadagnino’s last film, Challengers, was already cast as one of the main members of Easy Company, the army regiment led by Sgt. Rock. An unnamed star actress was also set to play a female French Resistance fighter, according to THR.

DC was originally high on the film due to a strong script from Justin Kuritzkes (who wrote Challengers), but balked after Guadagnino demanded on-location, outdoor shooting instead of shooting solely on a green-screen as is common in many comic-book films nowadays. THR says the studio also worried about the director’s proficiency to make a successful action film, as most of his other films are art-house films or introspective dramas.

THR also details that while the film is cancelled for now, it could still happen at some point in the future.

It’s not the first time a studio has tried to bring Sgt. Rock to the big screen—Arnold Schwarzenegger and Bruce Willis both previously tried to launch a film adaptation of the character. With this cancellation, it seems the sergeant will have to wait a bit longer before charging into battle on the big screen.

Meanwhile, Farrell will next appear on screen in another comic book role, reprising his character of Oz Cobblepot in The Batman: Part II.