Sgt. Rock - The comic history of the classic DC war hero who might be played Daniel Craig in a new film

Former James Bond actor Daniel Craig is in talks to portray classic DC character Sgt. Rock - which could be extra intriguing given that the character just made his official cinematic DC Universe debut in episode 3 of Creature Commandos, which delves into the backstory of GI Robot (voiced by Sean Gunn).

While we won't get into any big spoilers about what happens in the episode, now is the perfect time to get into the comic book history of Sgt. Rock and the soldiers of Easy Company, who he's been leading into battle on the comic page since the late '50s.

Way back then, at the dawn of the so-called Silver Age of comics, war comics were far more popular than most superheroes, with only a select few like Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman having survived the growing pains of the superhero bust of the early '50s. And Sgt. Franklin John Rock, who debuted in 1959's Our Army at War #89 by writer Robert Kanigher and artist Joe Kubert after a few similar prototype characters, would go on to become one of the most popular war comic heroes of all time.

In his civilian life, Rock is usually depicted as a steel mill worker in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, who enlists in the US Army after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, the event that spurred the United States to enter WWII after starting out as a nominally neutral nation. From there, Rock goes on to become the leader of Easy Company, his band of soldiers who also appear in Creature Commandos episode 3.

Though the adventures of Sgt. Rock and Easy Company were initially set in a fictionalized version of the real world, rather than the DC Universe, over the years, the character and his troops were eventually brought into the official DC timeline, crossing over with the WWII-era heroes of the Justice Society and other DC characters.

And while there is one version of Sgt. Rock's story that says his life ended when he was shot by the last enemy bullet fired at the last battle of WWII, a rebooted version of his timeline includes him going on to have post-war adventures alongside Batman, Superman, and even the Suicide Squad. He even fought against zombies in the 2022 DC horror comic Sgt. Rock Vs. The Army of the Dead, which was actually written by fan-favorite actor (and experienced zombie fighter) Bruce Campbell.

Interestingly enough, Sgt. Rock and GI Robot really don't have much shared comic history, despite both being WWII-era heroes. But that shared connection makes their crossover in Creature Commandos make perfect sense - and provides a bit of excitement for old-school DC fans who will recognize Sgt. Rock and Easy Company.

It also raises the question of whether the Sgt. Rock of Creature Commandos and the one who could potentially be played by Daniel Craig will be one and the same, and if so, if GI Robot could in fact show up in a live action Sgt. Rock film - or even some version of the Suicide Squad, given his comic history.

DC Studios Co-CEOs James Gunn and Peter Safran have expressed a desire to have actors who portray the voices of characters in animation play them in live action and vice versa, a rule which could be broken early on if Daniel Craig takes on the role of Sgt. Rock, as the character is voiced in Creature Commandos by actor Maury Sterling. But it's hard to not give them some leeway, considering Craig's apparent Sgt. Rock film, which is to be directed by Luca Guadagnino, didn't apparently enter into the equation until long after Creature Commandos was already completed - and it's not even fully official yet.

Whatever happens, the groundwork to include a hero like Sgt. Rock in the live-action side of the new cinematic DC Universe is already laid as of Creature Commandos season 3. And with an actor like Daniel Craig potentially in the mix, along with a director as skilled as Luca Guadagnino, it's hard not to think about the possibilities for a totally different kind of superhero war movie.

Dig into all the Easter eggs, cameos, and hidden references in every episode of Creature Commandos, and make sure to stay up to date on the streaming series' release schedule.