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Guy Ritchie Finally Helming a Sgt. Rock Movie?

by Alex Billington
May 12, 2008
Source: AICN

DC Comics' Sgt. Rock has been a contender for a feature film adaptation for years, and now we finally have an update. Producer Joel Silver recently spoke with Moriarty at AICN and told him that he is (finally) going to get the Sgt. Rock movie made - with Snatch's Guy Ritchie helming. An adaptation of the comic has been in the works for a while, with a script written by John Cox years ago. For those unfamiliar, Sgt. Rock is your regular infantry officer and comic book character first published by DC Comics in 1959. The comics are actually set in WWII, and a previous report confirms that Cox kept the film set during that time, keeping the nostalgic nature of the character. With Guy Ritchie nearly on board, this sounds like it will finally come together all right before G.I. Joe hits.

While it's not official by any means, Silver's response to the mention of Sgt. Rock was: "I'm going to make that. I'm going to make that very soon. With Guy Ritchie, I think." Silver and Ritchie have already been working together on Ritchie's latest British gangster film, RocknRolla. Silver had also mentioned that he was a fan of Ritchie's earlier films and that RocknRolla "is raw, it is funny, it is dark, it is great." But did he really impress him enough to convince him that he was the right guy to finally bring Sgt. Rock to the big screen? Apparently so.

British filmmaker Guy Ritchie, of Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels, Snatch, and Revolver, seems adept at telling intricate British gangster stories more than adapting comics, but maybe he just hasn't had a real opportunity to stretch his legs yet. Apparently Cox's script, set in WWII, will focus on The Rock after he's seen considerable combat and bloodshed, rather than an origin story. I'm actually a big fan of Ritchie and definitely am supportive of him in any venture. If he can handle storytelling like did in Snatch in a WWII comic book movie, then I'm all for it.

Once we finally hear official confirmation on Ritchie's involvement in Sgt. Rock, well be sure to update you. Hopefully this doesn't get delayed any further, because riding on the tails of the G.I. Joe buzz is definitely the way to go. Especially considering G.I. Joe's buzz is quite negative, which means this would be the perfect military comic book film for fans to jump on. Will Ritchie be able to pull off a great WWII film as well as he can pull off great British gangster films? Only time will tell, but I'm definitely in and I've got a feeling this will be one hell of an exciting ride.

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I'm excited about this one, that's for sure. Not sure how Sgt Rock would feel about you calling him a "regular infantry officer" though... Regular and infantry might be accurate but "officer" certainly isn't. Ads
http://www.thestopbutton.com Andrew Wickliffe

Wow, this'll be unwatchable
Jesse

Yeah, this movie won't happen. WB announces movies all the time for their comic books and nothing happens. This will go the way of the other Silver produced comic book flick wonder woman. Besides Ritchie is as bad as David Fincher, where they're attached to several movie productions. Besides Ritchie should really get to work on The Gamekeeper. Now that is a comic book movie that he should direct, since he came up with the story and all.
Rtaylor32

I'm not usually so provential but I find it odd that the studio would hire a British director to make this film. Then again nothing is sacred...
http://movieguyreviews4u.blogspot.com Ryan

Guy Ritchie....................eh. Every movie since he married Madonna sounds good but always turns out bad. Maybe he was a one-hit wonder.
Chris H.

I'm a huge fan of Sgt. Rock and I think this is a good concept. I heard about the script awhile ago and was pretty excited. It's been a slow process but it has been steadily moving forward. John Cox, the script writer, was completely turned off by Sgt. Rock while doing his research. That was until someone pointed him to earlier Sgt. Rock stories from the comic line "Our Men At War" as well as Rock's initial run. That's where Cox saw the light. In those issues Rock and Easy Company weren't going around killing the entire german army by themselves. They were deep storylines with terrific character development. It was character first, action second in those issues. There were a lot of serious storylines explored, mainly surrounded by themes of death, futility of war, and comraderie. The thing about this movie is that it won't look like a comic movie, or at least it shouldn't. It should be the squad you see in Saving Private Ryan with a bit more diversity among its members. Anything less would be an insult to the millions of men who actually fought in that war, as well as to the spirit of Sgt. Rock's comics.
Pete

Hey Chris H, Where'd you read about John Cox being turned off by Sgt Rock? I'm curious about which stories he was originally reading before he got to the older stuff. thanks, Pete
Jont

i dont see where this fits in the whole scheme of things. i know everyone sees the numbers from spiderman and ironman but jesus christ have they see the numbers from SPEED RACER. we're talking the best directors, best CG, best production, best nostaliga. even with the best of the best its still a shitty "movie" dont get me wrong i havent had time to see speed racer, and i know i will love it, but why is everyone trying to pile-on here with comic remakes. i understand it to a point but drudging up flash gordon and this shit is stupid and i hope its just a feeler rumor at least it will give people opportunity and create more work in the industry but i think this has bomb potenial.
Steve

I think that Steve Austin of WWE fame would be an excellent actor to fill the role of Sgt. Frank Rock.