Daniel Craig Circling DC Comics Movie ‘Sgt. Rock’ With ‘Queer’ Director Luca Guadagnino

Luca Guadagnino and Daniel Craig, who recently joined forces on the A24 indie “Queer,” are reuniting on a much grander scale. The duo are circling “Sgt. Rock,” an adaptation of the comic book, for DC Studios. No word on the plot, but it will probably involve a lot less sex and drug taking than their prior collaboration.

The deals haven’t been finalized, so the project could fall apart. But the studio is bullish on the script from Justin Kuritzkes, who previously wrote “Challengers” and “Queer” for Guadagnino. The new movie is being developed under DC’s new leadership team of James Gunn and Peter Safran, who have been reinvigorating the company.

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Gunn’s upcoming “Superman,” which debuts in 2025, is intended to kick off a new era for the comic book studio. DC has struggled to maintain consistency (for every “Joker” there’s been a “Joker: Folie à Deux”) and has often been overshadowed by Disney’s Marvel Studios and their “Avengers” hit-machine.

Guadagnino is one of the busiest and most acclaimed filmmakers working today. His credits include “Call Me By Your Name,” “Suspiria,” and “A Bigger Splash,” most of which have been in the arthouse, not populist realm. He’s also expected to oversee a remake of “American Psycho” for Lionsgate.

Craig hung up 007’s tuxedo and Walther PPK with 2021’s “No Time to Die,” the last of his five James Bond movies. He’s set to reprise his role as detective Benoit Blanc in Rian Johnson’s “Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery,” which Netflix will release next year.

In the comics, Sgt. Rock is a World War II hero and crack combat fighter. There have been aborted attempts to bring him to the screen over the years, with the likes of Bruce Willis and Arnold Schwarzenegger attached to films that never came to pass.

Guadagnino is represented by CAA, Range Media Partners, and Goodman, Genow, Schenkman, Smelkinson & Christopher. Craig is represented by CAA, Independent Talent Group and Glaser Weil Fink Jacobs Howard Avchen & Shapiro.

Deadline first reported Craig and Guadagnino’s involvement on “Sgt. Rock.”