Marvel Star Teases Jump to DC With James Gunn

By Sam Hargrave Posted:
James Gunn Marvel DC

The MCU's Crossbones actor Frank Grillo - who appeared in Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Civil War, and Avengers: Endgame - may have teased a jump to the DCU under James Gunn's DC Studios.

As James Gunn brings together his vision for DC Studios across ten currently-announced projects, he will soon require a cast to bring them to life. The DCU boss has already confirmed the first two actors joining the rebooted movie slate.

In fact, Gunn has since even hinted that he may be taking several members of his Guardians of the Galaxy cast - including Chris Pratt - with him to the DCU. And with how many actors have played in the Marvel movies, there will likely be more to follow.

Frank Grillo Teases New Superhero Role at DC

Frank Grillo
Frank Grillo

In a recent Instagram story - that was reshared by his son Rio- former MCU star Frank Grillo hinted that "the only constant in life is change" with boxing glove emojis. Grillo cryptically added, "something's coming???" alongside hush emojis, tagging both himself and DC Studios CEO James Gunn.

The actor's post was accompanied by Sam Cooke's 1964 classic song "A Change is Gonna Come" and a DC logo in the background.

The Direct Image

For now, it remains unclear whether Grillo has officially joined the DCU - with the "change" in question coming from his jump between comic book brands. However, the tease of "something's coming" appears to imply more definitive news, as opposed to just campaigning for a role under Gunn.

The only DCU project confirmed to be currently casting comes with HBO Max's animated series Creature Commandos. In the original announcement for the DCU slate, James Gunn confirmed they have "already cast" some of the team, with the same actors expected to play the roles across live-action and animation.

Creature Commandos
DC Studios

Grillo appears to be teasing his involvement with Creature Commandos, having commented several "fire" emojis under Gunn's post of the team artwork which was captioned "Can’t wait for you guys to see these guys in action. #CreatureCommandos #DCStudios."

Who Will Frank Grillo Play in James Gunn's DCU?

Rick Flag Sr. - the father to Joel Kinnaman's Suicide Squad character - was particularly teased by Gunn to "show up in other stuff" after his Creature Commandos debut, while also confirming at least one member of the animated team will appear in Viola Davis' Waller show shortly later.

Frank Grillo, Rick Flag Sr, Suicide Squad, Creature Commandos
The Direct

Grillo and Kinnaman only have a 14-year age gap between them, but placing the two actors side-by-side, they are certainly believable as father and son. Even examining the original art of the animated Rick Flag Sr. in Creature Commandos, Grillo bears enough resemblance to him to bring that role to live-action.

Among the other male roles going in Creature Commandos are Doctor Phosphorus, Eric Frankenstein, and G.I. Robot, while Waller will undoubtedly be casting for several new characters too. For now, those are the only two projects that appear close enough to production for Grillo to have likely joined the cast.

That being said, Gunn previously stated that they are "talking to an actor" about starring in HBO Max's Booster Gold series already. While Grillo may not fit the bill for that particular superhero, it does suggest DC Studios is open to casting now for projects that may still be further out in the DCU slate.

Frank Grillo's MCU adventures - which include Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Civil War, and Avengers: Endgame are streaming now on Disney+.

- In This Article: Creature Commandos
Release Date
2024
Platform
Actors
Indira Varma
- About The Author: Sam Hargrave
Sam Hargrave is the Associate Editor at The Direct. He joined the team as a gaming writer in 2020 before later expanding into writing for all areas of The Direct and taking on further responsibilities such as editorial tasks and image creation.