When you are given the opportunity to play a great character within the MCU, you want to do the absolute best job you can with that character, though sometimes it can be out of your hands entirely. This is how Frank Grillo felt about the studio’s handling of his character Crossbones in the Captain America films, with the actor believing the character was short-changed.
Brock Rumlow, a.k.a. Crossbones, was an MCU villain, a Hydra agent within S.H.I.E.L.D. who was a continual thorn in the Cap’s side until his demise at the hands of his own bomb vest in Captain America: Civil War. However, Crossbones was never the primary antagonist in any of the films and was always second to the main villain in each instance. Grillo seems to feel that the character had a lot more to him than just playing second fiddle and had he had more screen time, he could have brought a lot more to the table.
The actor opened up about his experience in the MCU in an interview with ComicBook.com after announcing that he would be crossing the divide and working in James Gunn and Peter Safran’s DC Universe. He cites the treatment his character received at the hands of Marvel Studios as one of the reasons he is leaving it behind to focus on the DCU.
“They never told a 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, but 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 that if you see how many people around the world have responded to Crossbones, and again, he’s on the screen for a very f–king short amount of time, I think there’s more there. I think there was more meat on the bone. I was disappointed, which is why I went over to DC.”
Speculation surrounding the actor’s involvement in this new era for DC started a while back and only intensified when he attended the Shazam!: Fury of the Gods red carpet. The rumor was that Grillo and Ron Perlman would be cast in Creature Commandos, the film that is set to kick off the new DCU. Hopefully, the actor can find what he felt was missing for him over at Marvel at DC instead.
You can first catch the actor in the film One Day as a Lion which is in select theatres now ahead of its April 7 digital release.
