Frank Grillo Says Rick Flag Sr. Will Be Everywhere in James Gunn’s DCU

Frank Grillo Says Rick Flag Sr. Will Be Everywhere in James Gunn's DCU

As a cinephile who has spent countless hours immersed in the silver screen world, I must admit that watching Frank Grillo‘s career unfold is nothing short of exhilarating. His versatility and dedication to his craft are truly commendable.


We spoke to actor Frank Grillo amid the release of Long Gone Heroes, his new crime thriller set in South America that sees him leading the charge in retrieving a family member from a dangerous operation that’s holding her hostage. Grillo has been keeping busy with other high-profile projects of late, courtesy of his DCU character Rick Flag Sr., who is being featured in a number of James Gunn titles.

Grillo shared with MovieWeb that the character has grown significantly. He’s deeply involved in “Creature Commandos” and “Peacemaker.” What’s exciting is that they’ve incorporated Rick Flag into Superman now. Just like Samuel L. Jackson’s character in the Marvel Universe, he’s becoming omnipresent. James presented it to me this way, and so far, it’s been fantastic. I feel honored that they’ve included me in their plans.

Grillo continued to talk about his love for Gunn and his work thus far:

I’ve had a modest acquaintance with James through Marvel, but let me tell you, I’ve been an ardent admirer all along. His work on the Guardians series was nothing short of exhilarating. Funny enough, he casually mentioned to me, “There’s something brewing. I’ll reach out when it’s official. I’ll give you a call.

He went ahead with it, and I responded, “‘Regardless of what it entails, I’m all set. I’m on board.’ I then added, ‘As for the rest, you can handle it. However, I want to be involved in any way, shape or form, if this is your endeavor, I wish to join the team.'” This sets the foundation of our partnership.

Capturing South America on the Big Screen

Frank Grillo Says Rick Flag Sr. Will Be Everywhere in James Gunn's DCU

Presently, Grillo’s latest work, titled “Long Gone Heroes,” unfolds as a crime-filled narrative in Venezuela. The imagery effectively captures an authentic atmosphere as Grillo’s heroic character embarks on a daring rescue mission with a makeshift team, venturing southward for the most crucial recovery task yet.

Originally, we filmed this movie in Puerto Rico. However, around a month into production, financial issues caused it to collapse. As a result, what we had already shot was left unused for approximately three months. Then, we received a call asking if we would travel to Colombia to complete the film. Our response was, “Go wherever necessary and finish it.” Interestingly enough, Columbia turned out to be an ideal location because it closely resembles Venezuela, offers a South American jungle setting instead of a Caribbean beach, and provided a more fitting backdrop for our story.

He concluded by saying, “Colombia was really amazing, really great people, really great crews because they’ve shot a lot of movies there, and just the environment lent itself for us creatively to really feel like we were in South America.”

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2024-09-23 01:02