Frank Grillo Explains Why Marvel Is ‘In Trouble’ and What Sets Working with James Gunn at DC Apart

Frank Grillo previously portrayed Brock Rumlow/Crossbones in ‘Captain America: The Winter Soldier,’ ‘Captain America: Civil War,’ and ‘Avengers: Endgame.’ Now, he is set to join James Gunn’s DCU as Rick Flag Sr. in ‘Creature Commandos,’ ‘Superman,’ and ‘Peacemaker’ Season 2.

It’s no secret that Grillo is absolutely ecstatic that he is joining the DCU, especially compared to how his character in the MCU was treated.

Grillo never kept it a secret that he was disappointed with Crossbones’ character arc. Crossbones was only on screen for a short time, and Grillo feels there was much more potential for the character. He was disappointed by how it turned out, which is one of the reasons he decided to work with DC instead.

Grillo talked to Sean O’Connell during the press event for ‘Creature Commandos,’ and he shared his thoughts on the differences between working at Marvel and DC.

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.

Grillo says that James Gunn and Peter Safran’s approach of hiring one actor to play a character in both live-action and animation helps create a more unified and consistent portrayal of the character. It allows the actor to have a deeper understanding of the role.

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.

The actor once again referenced that in the Marvel universe, his character was a secondary or even minor role. However, after seeing how things are developing at DC, he believes that DC has a lot of potential and unlimited possibilities for growth.

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.

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