Daniel Craig seems prone to superhero movie casting confusion, as recent developments surrounding his involvement with theDCUalmost perfectly mirror a 17-year-oldMCUcasting rumor. Casting confirmations have started to roll out in earnest as the franchise gears up for the release ofthe DCU’s first live-action movie,Superman, on July 11. With the franchise still in its infancy, a litany ofcharacters confirmed to be starring in the DCUhave yet to be cast, from high-profile figures like Batman to lesser-known DC characters like Sgt. Rock.
This has, unsurprisingly, led to a flurry of rumors andfan-casts for the DCU. I’m glad to see that DC Studios isn’t averse to leaning into these fan-casts, either, as the recent confirmation of Jason Momoa being cast as Lobo demonstrates. Still, DCU co-CEO James Gunn has his work cut out when it comes to keeping casting rumors from spiraling out of control as some leads latch onto the conversation and spark false claims about which actors are attached to what project. Daniel Craig is a recent example of this, and it’s an experience he’s all too familiar with.
Reports Began Circulating In 2008
The MCU was in its infancy 17 years ago, in 2008, whenIron ManandThe Incredible Hulklaunched the gargantuan cinematic franchise we all now know and love. This was three years before Thor would make his self-titled debut in 2011, meaningThorwas still in early development around this time. Before Chris Hemsworth was cast in the role in 2009,it was reported that James Bond himself, Daniel Craig, turned it down. This was for good reason, as Daniel Craig himself stated as much in an interview withIESB.net.
Daniel Craig was also rumored to be portraying Thor’s unseen brother, Balder, inDoctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness.
Craig initially stated that he thought it would be too much of a “power trip” to embody both James Bond and Thor on the big screen concurrently. Later, however, Craig clarified in an interview withCinemablendthat he was joking, stating,“I have no idea about Thor. I just was having a joke!“While I can’t blame anyone for believing that Craig was in line to portray Thor, given Craig himself seemingly confirmed as much, it’s amusing to see that he has found himself in a similar situation 17 years later in the early days of the MCU’s rival franchise.
Daniel Craig’s DCU Version Of The Thor Casting Rumor Has Been Debunked In 2025
Daniel Craig Was Reported To Be Portraying The DCU’s Sgt. Rock
In November 2024,Deadlinereported that Daniel Craig was in talks to portray Sgt. Rock inan upcoming DCU moviespotlighting the lesser-known character. Luca Guadagnino being attached as director gave credence to this report as the two recently collaborated onQueer. This was the presumed state of affairs until February 2025, whenDC Studios co-CEOs James Gunn and Peter Safran divulged at a press event that this was not the caseand that they approached the rumor like they do most other casting rumors: by not addressing it at all. This is what they had to say:
Peter Safran: Yeah, Daniel Craig was never in, Daniel and Luca have a really close relationship. They were out promoting Queer together and he obviously - they spoke about it, but we never met…So he was never in, but we just never comment on casting rumors, so we just left it alone.
James Gunn: Yeah, I mean, it’s interesting to see the way these things happen online because certain things are thought of as reality and other things are thought of as reality, but it was never like Daniel Craig was Sergeant Rock.
Who Is Sgt. Rock? Daniel Craig’s DC Superhero’s Comics History & Powers Explained
Daniel Craig is in talks to play Sgt. Rock, so here’s everything you need to know about the legendary WWII hero and how he might connect to the DCU.
Why this rumor took hold remains unclear. Regardless, while it doesn’t look like Daniel Craig was responsible for the misinformation this time, I find it quite amusing thatthis is the second time that Daniel Craig has been inaccurately attached to a superhero in the early days of a cinematic franchise. Craig hasn’t spoken about the misconception, perhaps finding his own amusement in the parallels 17 years later, but I certainly hope this doesn’t mean he won’t be involved in the DCU at all. After all, it would make sense to recruit the James Bond actor.
Why Daniel Craig’s Casting Rumors Make Sense, Even If They Were Both Debunked
Daniel Craig Brings A Lot To The Table
The most obviousreason to bring Daniel Craig into the new cinematic franchise is his star power. At this early stage, having big names like Jason Momoa (Lobo) and Nicholas Hoult (Lex Luthor) will work wonders for the DCU as it attempts to appeal to a broader audience. This is especially true for a character like Sgt. Rock, whose obscurity would have been counterbalanced by such a big name, similar to how Robert Downey Jr. catapulted Iron Man into superstardom from a position of obscurity relative to Marvel characters like Spider-Man and Hulk.
Furthermore, I genuinely think Craig would have been a solid choice for both characters.
Furthermore, I genuinely think Craig would have been a solid choice for both characters. Both are overtly masculine characters with compassionate undercurrents, soI don’t think it’s hard to draw parallels with the actor who has portrayed the most recent rendition of James Bond. It also looks as if Craig would be on board with portraying a superhero on the big screen, stating in an interviewComicbook’sPhase Zero podcast, “I should be so lucky” when asked about possibly joining the MCU. I sincerely hope, therefore, that theDCUcapitalizes on this enthusiasm, even if it isn’t with Sgt. Rock.
Marvel Cinematic Universe
The Marvel Cinematic Universe is a multimedia superhero franchise that began in 2008 with Paramount’s Iron Man starring Robert Downey Jr. The franchise quickly grew in popularity, with Disney eventually buying out Marvel Entertainment in 2009. The MCU consists of dozens of movies and TV shows, most notably Avengers: Endgame, WandaVision, and Loki.
DC Universe
The DC Universe is one of the biggest comic book franchises and often competes with Marvel. DC Comics started as National Allied Publications, founded by Malcolm Wheeler-Nicholson in 1935. Since then, the franchise has exploded with thousands of comic books, movies, TV shows, and video games. 2013 marked the beginning of the most recent iteration of the superheroes, with Zack Snyder introducing Henry Cavill as Superman. After several movies with mixed reviews, DC underwent a soft reboot under the helm of James Gunn and Peter Safran.
