Captain America: The Winter Soldier – Crossbones Confirmed (and A Casting Rumor, Too)

Frank Grillo, who kicked off rumors last week that he was on the short list to play a villain in Captain America: The Winter Soldier, has officially been signed to play Crossbones, according to Variety.Last week, Grillo tweeted that he had spent some time with Marvel representatives in Los Angeles.That came shortly after another tweet, made earlier in the weekend by talk radio host Matthew Aaron that the star “has screen-tested and “is THIS CLOSE to getting the role of Crossbones in the Marvel movies.” According to Variety, one of Grillo’s tweets featured the hashtag “#bones”.The character, a non-powered mercenary with extraordinary skill as a combatant and marksman, was introduced in 1989 and played a central role in the Death of Captain America storyline that, for many fans, defines Brubaker’s award-winning time on the series.Crossbones was a pretty important part of Ed Brubaker’s epic run on Captain America, which began before Civil War and just ended. While he hadn’t been named yet as a character in sequels to either Captain America: The First Avenger or Marvel’s The Avengers, the man who shot Steve Rogers was one of fans’ and reporters’ picks for a villain in either the second or third Cap film.Captain America: The Winter Soldier begins filming next spring in Cleveland.