Frank Grillo recently took to Instagram to confirm that he will return as Rick Flag Sr. in James Gunn's Man of Tomorrow, and has now revealed that his character will play an important role in the plot.
In a THR profile of the actor, the trade notes that he will soon head to The UK to begin shooting Gunn's Superman follow-up.
“My character, Rick Flag Sr., is a big part of the sequel’s story, so I’m excited about it,” Grillo offered.
The Captain America: Civil War actor made his DCU debut voicing the character in the animated Creature Commandos series, before returning for a supporting role in Superman. In Peacemaker season 2, Flag - who had taken over as the head of A.R.G.U.S. - targeted Chris Smith (John Cena), seeking revenge for the murder of his son (Joel Kinnaman) in The Suicide Squad.
If you haven't seen the season 2 finale of Peacemaker yet, major spoilers follow.
Season 2 concluded with Smith and the rest of the 11th Street Kids, along with Judomaster and A.R.G.U.S. Agents Sasha Bordeaux and Langston Fleury, founding Checkmate, and a vengeance-fuelled Rick Flag Sr. establishing his villainous turn by kidnapping Chris and stranding him in Salvation, the Earth-like dimension Flag intends to use as a prison for the planet's metahumans.
We assume that Flag is going to continue down this path, so don't be surprised if he winds up as an adversary of the Man of Steel in MOT - at least until the movie's big bad - now confirmed to be Brainiac - puts everyone on Earth on notice.
Gunn has confirmed that the events of the finale are building towards his own take on DC Comics' Salvation Run, a six-issue miniseries that saw the government exile some of Earth's most dangerous metahuman criminals to the planet Cygnus 4019 (Salvation). Separate factions are formed as the villains struggle to survive and attempt to discover a means of escape.
If we will be revisiting Salvation in MOT, Flag is sure to be involved. Rumors persist that Cena will also appear in the movie, so there's a chance Gunn is simply trying to throw fans off track.
Grillo - who recently turned 60, believe it or not - also spoke about his fitness and how he stays in such great shape.
"A couple of years ago, I gave up drinking. I wasn’t self-destructive, but I drank wine most nights and definitely had to sweat it out in the gym sometimes,” he explains. “Giving it up has really changed everything for me. I just feel clearer and more connected — with my work and myself. I’m more patient; I’m better with my kids."
“But what really blew my eyes open,” Grillo adds, was some late-life experimentation with psychedelics. “I did some mushrooms — microdosing and some heroes’ journeys,” he explains. “But the thing that really changed my outlook in a lasting way was smoking Bufo — toad venom.”
Peacemaker season 2 follows Chris Smith, the vigilante superhero, as he struggles to reconcile his past with his newfound sense of purpose while continuing to kick righteous evildoer butt in his misguided quest for peace at any cost. He discovers an alternate world where life is everything he wishes it could be. But this discovery also forces him to face his traumatic past and take the future into his own hands.
"The new season follows Christopher 'Chris' Smith, aka Peacemaker, the vigilante Super Hero as he struggles to reconcile his past with his newfound sense of purpose while continuing to kick righteous evil-doer butt in his misguided quest for peace at any cost.
In season 2, Peacemaker discovers an alternate world where life is everything he wishes it could be. But this discovery also forces him to face his traumatic past and take the future into his own hands.”