Frank Grillo, who plays Crossbones in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, dropped a major spoiler for Avengers 4 confirming an assumed dead character would return for Avengers 4.
The return of an assumed dead character in the Marvel Cinematic Universe isn’t anything new. Avengers: Infinity War saw the return of the Red Skull. Loki has also survived a number of “deaths” throughout the franchise.
Grillo confirmed that Brock Rumlow aka Crossbones will officially return to Avengers in a flashback. Grillo broke the news while speaking with Jim Norton and Matt Serra on the UFC Unfiltered podcast.
Frank Grillo makes it clear that fans will get to see Crossbones again:
“[Crossbones] makes an appearance in the next Avengers movie, “But it’s a flashback. Yeah and I’m allowed to say whatever I want because I’m never doing another Marvel movie.
While Grillo mentions it’s a flashback it’s more than likely Grillo doesn’t have a completed script. It’s possible what he thinks is a flashback sequence could be even more.
There are some theories that involve using the Time Stone to reset the timeline somehow. And if that is what ends up happening then it could be a free life card for not only Crossbones to be brought back to life, but other heroes and villains as well.
But on the other side of the coin, we could take Frank Grillo at his word. If this is really just a flashback we have to ask ourselves when and why will a flashback be used in the next Avengers movie. His death in [easyazon_link identifier=”B01F4BWXCC” locale=”US” tag=”boundingintocomics-20″]Captain America: Civil War[/easyazon_link] was one of the catalysts leading to the Civil War between Cap and Iron Man.
It’s possible it could be a sequence where Tony looks back when the team was together. It’s also possible Stark might use his BARF technology to examine a flashback where Crossbones is present. Maybe a point in time when he was operating with HYDRA and had acquired some kind of knowledge about the Infinity Stones.
One thing is clear, Grillo’s spoiler has actually left us with more questions than answers. Will it be time travel? Will it be BARF? Could it be a memory sequence? Could it be an alternate reality?
What do you think of the return of Crossbones? Are you hoping for some more screen time for the villain? And do you think its just a simple flashback, or is there more to this story?