It was one week ago that character actor Frank Grillo flew out to Los Angeles to test for the villain role in the highly anticipated sequel Captain America: The Winter Soldier, and now it's being reported that his little trip wasn't for naught.
Mirroring the way that Grillo announced his own involvement with Marvel Studios last Monday, Variety writer Marc Graser has confirmed on his Twitter account that the End of Watch actor has been selected to play the antagonist known as Crossbones in the Captain America sequel. He joins a cast that is already set to include Chris Evans, who will return as the patriotic hero, Sebastian Stan, who will play the resurrected Bucky Barnes, and Anthony Mackie, who will be playing Cap's new sidekick The Falcon. The project is being directed by Joe and Anthony Russo, best known as directors and producers on the NBC series Community, and filming is scheduled to begin in the first half of next year in anticipation of an April 4, 2014 release date.
Crossbones made his first appearance in the comics back in 1989 and has been a member of Cap's rogues gallery ever since. A graduate of a school for criminals that he actually ended up teaching at, the villain is a mercenary who worked for the Albert Malik, a Soviet KGB agent who took on the identity of the Red Skull. It's unknown at this time how much of the character's comic history will make its way into the new feature. Grillo's previous credits include The Grey, Edge of Darkness and Warrior.
To read more about Captain America: The Winter Soldier head over to our Blend Film Database.
UPDATE: In their full report Variety includes Scarlett Johansson and Cobie Smulders as part of the official cast, which would mean that Black Widow and Maria Hill would be making their third and second appearances, respectively, in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. While the rumor of Smulders' involvement is new, the Johansson role would confirm a story that came out earlier this month when the short list for Peggy Carter actresses was revealed.
