Crossbones actor Frank Grillo recently revealed he’s joining James Gunn in the DCU while also taking some parting shots at Marvel for their poor story decisions.
Before revealing he was joining the DCU, Grillo took some heavy shots at Marvel Studios and the Marvel Cinematic Universe for what he views as poor story choices in regards to his character, Crossbones.
He told ComicBook.com, “They never told the story [about Crossbones]. The mythology of the MCU and just what Marvel has in its pool of characters, it’s so deep. Crossbones was there for a minute, and he was supposed to be there longer, then they went the direction they did.”
“I think Crossbones serves a purpose, but I think the interesting thing is if you see how many people around the world have responded to Crossbones, and again, he’s only on the screen for a very f–king short amount of time, I think there’s more there. There was more meat on the bone,” he continued.
He then declared, “I was disappointed, which is why I went over to DC.”
When asked if he sees himself ever returning to the role of Crossbones Grillo added, “I don’t think so. I would be shocked. No.”
Grillo appeared as Brock Rumlow aka Crossbones in Captain America: The Winter Soldier, where he was a secondary antagonist to Captain America and Black Widow behind Winter Soldier.
He reprised his role in Captain America: Civil War, but was quickly defeated in the opening action sequence by Captain America and his team. Facing defeat, Crossbones attempted to play a mind game with Captain America by revealing to him that Winter Soldier actually remembered him. He then committed suicide by detonating a number of explosives attached to his outfit.
Grillo’s last outing as the character was in Avengers: Endgame during a time travel sequence when he escorted Jasper Sitwell out of Stark Tower with Loki’s scepter.
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It’s unclear what role Grillo will take on in the Gunn’s new DCU. There are clearly plenty of opportunities on the table from the Creature Commandos to The Authority.
He could have a role in any number of the TV series including Lanterns or Paradise Lost. There’s also he a chance he could appear in Superman: Legacy or the Batman film, The Brave and the Bold.
Grillo isn’t the only one who has taken some parting shots at Marvel. James Gunn seemingly did it as well. As reported by Deadline, while promoting his upcoming DCU slate, Gunn informed select media outlets, “People have become beholden to dates, to holding dates, to getting movies made no matter what. At the end of the day, I’m a writer at my heart, and we’re not going to be making movies before the screenplay is finished.”
“And if that means our plan has to shift a little bit–it’s going to happen, we know it’s going to happen…we’re not going to be making movies and putting hundreds of millions of dollars in a film where a screenplay is only two-thirds of the way done and we have to finish it while we’re making the movie. I’ve seen it happen again and again, and it’s a mess. I think it’s the primary reason for the deterioration in the quality of films today versus 30 years ago.” Gunn declared.
What do you make of Grillo’s shots at the Marvel Cinematic Universe and his revelation that he will be joining the DCU? Who do you think he could play in Gunn’s DCU?
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