James Gunn Offers a Promising Tease For Frank Grillo's DCU Character

By Andrew Sanford | Film | October 4, 2024 |

By Andrew Sanford | Film | October 4, 2024 |

Cinematic universes are not new. They may be all the rage now (or, at least, studios think they are), but they’ve existed since the days of the Universal monster movies. Maybe someone will correct me and list an earlier example, but my earliest reference points are Dracula and Crew. My point is that cinematic universes aren’t some mysterious, complicated thing. You need a plan, you need to stick to that plan, and you need to make that connective tissue strong.

It’s not like every story needs to impact every other story. Direct consequences are great and fun, yes, but the answer is as simple as using supporting characters who appear in multiple films and movies. The MCU nailed this with Agent Phil Coulson, played by Clark Gregg. Then, they killed him (both literally and by moving his character to television). They haven’t had anyone like that since.

It’s not just about having a hero or name actor show up repeatedly. The smaller roles are what make universes feel real and lived in. Even if they have a line or two, they show up and fill a role usually filled by a nameless scientist or agent. That is the kind of tissue that helps cinematic universes be successful, and it looks like James Gunn is taking that route with his DCU.

Gunn recently gushed over actor Frank Grillo, who will play Rick Flagg Sr. in Gunn’s DCU. Flagg Sr. is the father of Joel Kinnaman’s Rick Flagg. Flagg was killed by John Cena’s Peacemaker. “He is a really cool character that Frank has been molding,” Gunn told Entertainment Weekly. “The character’s also in Superman, and he’s an incredibly important part in Peacemaker. He is one of the primary characters in Peacemaker season 2. So we get to see this character from different angles, and he is not simple.”

Presumably, Grillo will have a bone to pick with the man who murdered his son. But it won’t be entirely black and white. “This isn’t just a good guy, not at all,” Gunn explained. “We see all different sides of his character. He is morally a complex human being. Grillo is somebody who I’ve known for a little while, and I’ve wanted to work with him for a long time. He was one of the first people that I talked to when I took over the studio, like ‘we’re going to find something cool for you,’ and now he is everywhere.”

Regardless of what the story entails, it appears as though Grillo will be a fixture of Gunn’s universe. “The actors have to be able to work within different genres, and that’s something Frank’s really been good at,” Gunn continued. “He’s been really good at the comedy of Creature Commandos and also really good at the drama of Peacemaker and Superman.”

It seems that Grillo will have a main role in Creature Commandos, but the others will likely see him in a supporting role. Could Frank Grillo be the connective tissue for the Gunn/Safran universe? Will he be some kind of dark inverse to Phil Coulson?! Could he pop up to harass Robert Pattinson’s Bruce Wayne in the second The Batman film?!?! Just kidding. That would be impossible. Not because those movies aren’t connected, but because that movie is not happening.