Colin Farrell eyes another DC character after The Penguin with Sgt. Rock movie

The Penguin star Colin Farrell may be headed for a completely different corner of the DC universe to play a completely different character than his award-winning Oz Cobb.

Farrell is in talks to star in the Sgt. Rock movie from DC Studios, Entertainment Weekly has learned. The project is based on the comic book character Sgt. Frank Rock, whose story took place during World War II as he led his unit, the Easy Company, in battles against the Nazis. Luca Guadagnino will direct the movie, which is being written by the filmmaker's Queer and Challengers scribe, Justin Kuritzkes.

Deadline Hollywood first reported the news.

Created by Robert Kanigher and Joe Kubert, Sgt. Rock, often dubbed "the Rock," first appeared in a 1959 issue of Our Army at War. He went on to headline his own comic book series starting in 1977 as the character grew in popularity.

Multiple Hollywood trades previously reported that Guadagnino's Queer star Daniel Craig was circling the part. However, DC Studios co-head James Gunn told reporters in February "he was never attached." Peter Safran, Gunn's counterpart, said, "What we love about Sgt. Rock is the opportunity to tell a story about heroism and conflict in [a] compelling and unique way. Justin really wrote a wonderful screenplay and that’s what catapulted that project to the forefront."

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Filming on the movie could now begin this year with Farrell on board, but the actor already has to shoot Sugar season 2 for Apple TV+ and the Edward Berger-directed move The Ballad of a Small Player.

Story-wise, Sgt. Rock and The Penguin take place in separate universes, so there's no real overlap. The HBO series, which earned Farrell honors from the Golden Globes, Critics Choice Awards, and Saturn Awards, takes place in the world of director Matt Reeves' The Batman, which will continue with The Batman Part II. There's also potential for a second season of The Penguin. In November, Reeves told EW he was, "in a very preliminary way," talking about it with Farrell, showrunner Lauren LeFranc, and fellow producer Dylan Clark.

"For me, what's really important is that we earn it," he said at the time. "The idea of revisiting means that we have to keep that same bar. I know that none of us wants to go back and just do more. We want to go back and do something great. So that's what we're talking about now. We do believe that there's going to be something in there, but it's just beginning. It's exciting though. It's very gratifying."

Meanwhile, the DC slate continues after the animated Creature Commandos with Superman (in theaters July 11), Peacemaker season 2 (on HBO later this year), Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow (currently shooting in the U.K.), and HBO's Lanterns drama (currently shooting in Los Angeles).