Captain America: The Winter Soldier saw the death of Hydra leader Alexander Pierce and Bucky Barnes breaking free from the Winter Soldier, but not even a collapsing building could take out the film’s tertiary villain. Brock Rumlow was worse for wear when the EMTs found him, but considering the trajectory the character goes on in the comics, Marvel may decide to bring him back in a future film. Fortunately, actor Frank Grillo believes there’s a good chance we’ll see the brutal Hydra agent again.
While plugging his DirecTV series Kingdom with Collider, Grillo mentioned that he signed a multi-contract deal with Marvel to play Rumlow, and Winter Soldier functioned as his origin story. Although he can’t say much on if there is something in the works, Grillo is "cautiously optimistic" that he’ll appear in the "next few Marvel films." Rumlow is better known in the comic books as assassin-for-hire Crossbones, and his defeat at the end of Winter Soldier may be the driving force that will lead him to donning the skull mask and upping his game. The soonest we would see him is in Captain America: Civil War, and as many comic book fans know, Crossbones played a huge role in the aftermath of the original Civil War.
Spoilers from the comics ahead. If you don’t want to know where future Marvel movies might go with the character, turn back now.
After Cap was arrested at the end of Civil War, he was set to stand trial for his "crimes," but was shot outside the courthouse by Crossbones on the orders of the Red Skull. Although it was a brainwashed Sharon Carter that delivered the killing shot, Rumlow was publicly blamed for the assassination (don’t worry, Cap eventually came back to life), and throughout the following years he was a recurring adversary of Bucky Barnes when the former sidekick took on the star-spangled mantle. Although he primarily serves the Skull, as an assassin he’ll work for anyone who pays him enough.
As with the original Civil War, Captain America: Civil War will place Tony Stark in an antagonistic light. However, that doesn’t mean there aren’t other villainous forces at work, whether it’s a revived Red Skull or Hydra returning to cause more chaos. If Marvel brings Grillo back, it’s likely Rumlow will be serving these bad guys, and by now he’ll have adopted the Crossbones persona. It’s a given he’ll tussle with Cap a few times, but the big question is whether he’ll pull the trigger on the patriotic hero in the MCU.
Chris Evans has one movie left on his contract following Civil War, so it’s unlikely he’ll be killed off at the end of the film, unless his last appearance is in a flashback during one of the Avengers: Infinity War movies. Given how the main conflict will be driven by the Superhuman Registration Act, it’s doubtful Rumlow will have a huge role to play, but it will still be great to see him tearing it up as the assassin he’s meant to be. Remember, Grillo has a multi-contract deal, so if Marvel wants to expand on the character, we’ll be seeing a lot of him in the coming years.
