Crossbones actor Frank Grillo says character is done in the MCU

Last Updated on August 5, 2021

Frank Grillo first appeared as Crossbones in Captain America: The Winter Soldier and quickly became a fan favorite. The character would appear again in Captain America: Civil War only to be dispatched in the opening minutes. Grillo returned again as the character in Avengers: Endgame but chronologically this was during the events of The Avengers as part of the time heist sequence. Despite the fact that the character's fate is reasonably apparent at this point, fans have still asked the actor about a possible return and Grillo is here to tell that he believes that Crossbones is done in the MCU.

The character has been making the rounds promoting his film Boss Level and during a chat with "Variety", he was asked about an MCU return and the actor did not mince words:

"They're done with me. Because of the way the stories wound up being told and just how big the stories became, the Crossbones of it wasn't really part of the future of the Avengers."

The stories being told in the MCU certainly became bigger in scope after his initial appearances as the character so it makes sense that Crossbones wouldn't be made a priority for a return. Even though Grillo won't be making an MCU return, the actor is grateful for his current career which came pretty late in the game. The actor didn't get his big break until starring in 2011's Warrior and he has made the most of that moment in the years that have followed. Grillo has worked steadily and his 2021 slate is particularly paced with releases that include Body Brokers, Once Upon a Time in Staten Island, Cop Shop, Cosmic Sin, and The Hitman's Wife's Bodyguard, a sequel to 2017 surprise hit, The Hitman's Bodyguard. In the same "Variety" interview, Grillo took the time to express gratitude for all the opportunities he has been given:

"The day that isn't cool is the day you should ride off into the sunset and stop doing it. It's pretty magical to be able to make movies. It's pretty magical to have people come up to you and say, 'Hey, you were great in this or you made me laugh or you made me cry.' I wake up every day grateful and thankful that I got this far. That's no bulls***."

Frank Grillo is the man and I usually enjoy just about anything he pops up in. Even though he won't be making an MCU return, I look forward to his upcoming future projects. I personally discovered him in a very underrated film called Disconnect which was a drama that centered on a group of people searching for human connections in today's wired world. Grillo paid Mike Dixon in the film, a private detective featured in two of the film's connected stories. The most powerful of those stories follows him as a father of a young boy who is involved in pranking a fellow student which results in that student hanging himself. It's pretty powerful stuff and Grillo gives a solid performance that I'd call one of his best.

Do YOU think Frank Grillo should return as Crossbones? How would YOU make it happen?