With the notable exception of a couple of Phase One missteps like Terrence Howard’s Rhodey and Edward Norton’s Bruce Banner, Marvel Studios have generally been right on the money when it comes to casting in their shared universe, from the marquee superheroes right down to the minor supporting players.
However, the sprawling nature of the franchise means that there have been plenty of characters over the years that fans would love to see more of, but they’ve never been given the chance despite the almost limitless crossover potential of the MCU. One name that seemed tailor-made for his role in the long-running comic book series was Frank Grillo, who appeared in two Captain America movies and Avengers: Endgame but was never afforded the opportunity to show what he could really bring to the table as either Brock Rumlow or his costumed alter-ego Crossbones.
As one of the most underrated actors working today that has consistently proved that his acting talents more than match up to his four decades of boxing and martial arts experience, many fans were dismayed when Grillo’s time in the MCU was reduced to just a handful of scenes spread out across half a decade and three movies, despite the lengthy contract he signed with the studio.
The 55 year-old is more than aware of that fact, and admitted in a recent interview that Crossbones is now the role most people associate him with, as well as saying that he’d love the opportunity to bring Brock Rumlow back for his own TV show.
“I would love to do that, just because I have never seen a character be on the screen so little and yet have such a fan following. I scratch my head with it sometimes. I have a great relationship with Marvel and the guys there, but why didn’t they, even if it wasn’t with me, pursue that? Why isn’t Crossbones somewhere in the mix? I think Crossbones was onscreen for something like eight or 12 minutes, and you would think that this character was in 75 different movies the way every day people come up to me all day and talk to me about Crossbones. I’m taking pictures as if I was Captain America. I would love for a meeting to help them develop it. That would be great. It’s a great character, but if it does happen, that will probably happen with somebody half my age.”
Although the idea of Marvel green-lighting a spinoff for a bit-part character played by a guy that’s fast approaching 60 doesn’t sound like a great idea on paper, an action-heavy series headlined by a fan favorite villain with an awesome-looking costume played Frank Grillo is an entirely different and altogether more exciting proposition.