One of Superman's stars addressed a canon inaccuracy that he will make sure gets fixed the next time he comes back to the DC Universe. Superman marks the first theatrical release in a brand-new DC Universe under DC Studios co-CEOs James Gunn and Peter Safran. Thus far, the only projects in the same universe include Creature Commandos and most of Peacemaker Season 1, but one character has already slightly messed up the canon from a visual perspective.
Rick Flag Sr. star Frank Grillo addressed the inconsistency in his hair color across his multiple DCU appearances. Grillo first joined the new DCU with a voiceover role as Rick Flag Sr. in 2024's Creature Commandos, which showed his character with a head of white hair and a full white beard. However, upon his return in Superman, he had his natural black hair and short facial hair, marking a major change from only months earlier.
Addressing this inaccuracy with IGN, Grillo made it clear that Flag will have white hair moving forward in the DCU. He revealed that he had shot his work on Season 2 of Tulsa King back-to-back with Superman, which did not leave him with time to change his hair. According to him, "people were not really happy with that:"
"I think the next time, if they don’t fire me, the next time I'm in something, it’s white hair. I was on another show, 'Tulsa King,' and it was literally back-to-back…and people really were not happy with that! They were very mean about my dark hair."
Grillo recently played a minor supporting role in Superman, as General Rick Flag worked with the U.S. government to pursue Superman when the hero was put into a negative light. Next, Grillo is set to return to the DCU in Season 2 of Peacemaker, where he will also have the same black hair he had in Superman. After that, Grillo is expected to go back to the white hairdo fans saw him don in Creature Commandos.
Currently, Grillo can be seen in James Gunn's Superman alongside David Corenswet, Rachel Brosnahan, and Nicholas Hoult. The movie picks up with Clark Kent in his early years as a reporter with the Daily Planet and in his first few months dating Lois Lane, all before he engages in his first true battle with Lex Luthor and Luthorcorp. Superman is now playing in theaters worldwide.
Rick Flag's Future in the New DCU Post-Superman
While Frank Grillo only played a minor role in Superman, the character is expected to have a bright future in the greater DCU. That will come to fruition next in Season 2 of Peacemaker, in which he will be one of half a dozen villains coming for John Cena's Christopher Smith in his second set of episodes.
This series will give Grillo plenty to work with, as Rick Flag Sr. will be on the hunt for Peacemaker after the death of his son, Joel Kinnaman's Rick Flag Jr. The younger Flag and Peacemaker had a memorable and epic battle in 2021's The Suicide Squad over a hard drive detailing Project Starfish, which ended with Peacemaker stabbing and killing Flag to keep the information a secret.
With Grillo now expected to play a fairly big supporting role in the DCU, the big mystery moving forward is what other projects he could be a part of.
The antagonist/antihero is expected to be a major player in Creature Commandos Season 2, but there are no other live-action projects confirmed to include him moving forward. However, considering Gunn and company still have not announced most of the slate for Chapter 1: Gods and Monsters, answers to that question could be on their way to becoming public before long.
Richard Nebens joined The Direct in March 2020, now serving as the site's Senior Writer and also working as an assistant editor and content creator. He started his journalism career as a hobby in 2019 and is passionate about sharing news and stories from the entertainment industry, especially comic book movies, comedy, and sci-fi. Richard looks to expand his knowledge about movies and TV every day, and he is eager to stay locked into the latest releases and breaking news at every opportunity.
