Most fans agree that Marvel Studios dropped the ball on Frank Grillo's Brock Rumlow. The villain was introduced as an undercover HYDRA agent in 2014's Captain America: The Winter Soldier, and following a brutal clash with The Falcon, the stage was set for him to become Crossbones.
We saw that play out in Captain America: Civil War two years later, but following a brief clash with Steve Rogers, the villain met an explosive end, courtesy of the Scarlet Witch.
The actor returned in Avengers: Endgame for a cameo role as his 2012 Variant, but with Creature Commandos, Superman, and Peacemaker season 2, Grillo has already racked up as many appearances in the DCU in less than a year—as Rick Flag Sr.—as he did in the MCU over five.
Grillo is one of the only actors with experience working in the MCU and DCU, and shared some insights into that during a recent conversation with The Morning After Pod.
According to the actor, the Russo Brothers are, in his eyes, "more comfortable with directing on scripts that are not totally complete," a process he acknowledges is "not uncommon" in filmmaking.
In contrast, with James Gunn, "Everything was done. All the scripts are done in advance. You don’t really need to fudge with it at all."
He added, "The Russos have a whole bunch of people that have their hand in the cookie jar," compared to the Superman director, who serves as DC Studios co-CEO with Peter Safran. That leads to "a whole different way of movie making. It’s not like James has a committee that he needs to answer to. It’s him and Peter Safran, whereas the Russo brothers have a whole bunch of people."
Whether it's a good thing for Gunn to have no one to answer to remains debatable. So far, we've seen the filmmaker cherry-pick his share of DCU movies and TV shows (which is understandable), as well as projects—Peacemaker season 2—featuring friends and actors he worked with in the DCEU.
Still, Grillo is a fan of Gunn's approach. "He’s really got a clear concept. His theory is that there’s no movie without a script. The script is going to be as tight as it can possibly be before you start shooting. When we look back 50 years, we’re going to look at this time and go, ‘Well, these guys created this genre,'" he said of Marvel Studios and Gunn. "They’re all amazing. They just do it differently."
The DCU got off to a strong start with Superman, while Creature Commandos and Peacemaker received positive reviews. 2026 will be a big test for DC Studios, as they have Lanterns, Supergirl, and Clayface, three projects that Gunn wasn't creatively involved with.
Can DC Studios and the DCU still flourish without Gunn's input? We'll have to wait and see.
Let us know your thoughts on Grillo's take on Marvel vs. DC in the comments section below.