When you make your way through the Marvel movies in order, you’ll spot Frank Grillo playing Brock Rumlow, a.k.a. Crossbones, in Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Captain America: Civil War and Avengers: Endgame. He also vocally reprised the character for a few episodes of What If… ?, which can be streamed with a Disney+ subscription, but for all intents and purposes, his time in the MCU is done. Now, as he’s about to make his DC Universe debut as Rick Flag Sr., Grillo told CinemaBlend why he thinks Marvel has “been in trouble” lately, and how working with DC Studios co-head James Gunn has felt so different.
Grillo spoke with our Sean O’Connell during the junket for Creature Commandos, the upcoming DC TV show that kicks off the DCU continuity and will premiere to people who have a Max subscription on December 5. On the subject of the differences of working at Marvel vs. DC, the actor had this to say:
Well, that's a great question, given how the other guys have been in trouble a little bit. Because they got, I think, way over their skis, so to speak. And I also think what James and Peter Safran are doing, where they're hiring one actor to do live action and to do animation – the voice work – it creates a cohesiveness, and an understanding of the character. But, more importantly, [Gunn] understands how to utilize them in each story. And so there's not an egregious number of people who you’re like, ‘Why is he (here)? What's this? Are they trying to throw this character in just because?’ They have a different approach. We'll see how it works out. But I feel a difference in it.
It’s an interesting perspective, although I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention two things. One, Marvel Studios not working on animated projects when Frank Grillo came aboard, so having actors play characters in both live-action and animated forms wasn’t a concern. Two, it’s funny he’s talking about an “egregious number of people” considering that Grillo is part of the stacked cast of James Gunn’s Superman, as that upcoming DC movie doesn’t just include Man of Steel mainstays like Lois Lane and Lex Luthor, but also characters like Guy Gardner, Hawkgirl, Mr. Terrific and Metamorpho.
Still, I see what Frank Grillo is getting at with talking about how James Gunn, who co-captains the DC Studios ship with producer Peter Safran, takes great care in making sure there’s a good reason to include characters in these DCU projects for story reasons rather than just because it’s an option to throw them in. Grillo also said the following about playing Brock Rumlow and how he currently feels about DC:
I was a secondary character, and maybe a tertiary character, in that world. But being in it, and watching what's evolving, I think the sky's the limit for DC. I really do.
He’s right that Rumlow was a secondary antagonist at best in Captain America: The Winter Soldier, and while he did give the Avengers some trouble at the beginning of Captain America: Civil War, he was quickly killed off. Then Grillo cameoed as an alternate timeline version of the character in Avengers: Endgame from the Winter Soldier era, but ultimately Grillo was a character lacking in depth. In contrast, Rick Flag Sr. is set to be a more important supporting character/ensemble player in the DC Universe, and from what he’s seen so far, Grillo is confident that this franchise has great things ahead of it.
Following his animated debut as Rick Flag Sr. in Creature Commandos, Frank Grillo will portray the character in live-action for Superman, which will open in theaters on July 11, 2025. After that, he’ll return for Peacemaker Season 2, which is expected to debut sometime in August on the 2025 TV schedule.
