Frank Grillo Reveals Why He Prefers DC to Marvel (But Fans Might Not Agree)

While it’s certainly not news that actor Frank Grillo has left Marvel Studios to join James Gunn and Peter Safran’s burgeoning DC Studios, the reason why he prefers his new employer to his old one might cause some debate among fans. Grillo admitted to Entertainment Weekly that the two studios are “very different. Marvel’s a different machine, and it’s great in its own right, but the thing I love about James’s and Peter’s DC is that it’s much more contained. It’s so much more personal and I really enjoy it better. I just love being part of something in the embryonic stage and being able to grow with it and watch it and flourish.”

The actor previously played Brock Rumlow / Crossbones in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, primarily as an antagonist to Captain America, before being killed off with only three film appearances. Grillo is now playing Rick Flag Sr. in Creature Commandos, the second season of Peacemaker, and the upcoming Superman. While we certainly can’t blame him for taking up another comic book role in a different cinematic universe, his reasoning is a little off. For one, stating that the DCU is more contained seems flawed, as anyone who’s seen the trailer for Superman knows that the film is laying a lot of groundwork for other movies and TV shows; it’s the DCU’s first film, and it already introduces seemingly countless characters who are sure to appear again and again.

Also, while the MCU has definitely stumbled a bit by spending too much time setting up future storylines, it’d be a crime to completely omit the more intricate character work the gigantic franchise has done. Most of its main players – like Tony Stark / Iron Man, Peter Parker / Spider-Man, Wanda Maximoff / Scarlet Witch, etc. – have evolved over the course of numerous movies and shows that spent more time developing their arcs and less time making obscure comic book references and whatnot. In fact, many of these characters have had their best moments not in the middle of CGI-laden fight scenes, but in the quiet moments that revealed who they really are.

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But then again, let’s not be too quick to judge Grillo’s comments on the differences between Marvel and DC Studios. The actor did reveal to ComicBook that he was hoping his character would play a bigger role in the MCU, stating that “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–cking 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.”

While his time in the MCU may have been cut short, there’s no denying that Grillo played a suitably menacing Crossbones, and it is a shame that we didn’t get to see him square off with Cap and the Avengers more, especially considering his considerable lore in the comics. Hopefully, now that he’s in the DCU, we’ll see Grillo’s Flag grow into a more nuanced and substantial role.