Frank Grillo made his first appearance as Brock Rumlow/Crossbones in Captain America: The Winter Soldier. The actor said that he had “signed a seven-picture deal” with Marvel Studios, but Crossbones was killed off with his very next appearance in Captain America: Civil War. This naturally left Grillo a little disappointed that his time in the Marvel Cinematic Universe was cut so short, which is why he initially turned down a cameo in Avengers: Endgame.
While speaking with Empire Magazine, Frank Grillo said “There was supposed to be a lot more of Crossbones. I was the one character who I think should be in more of them, and these other idiot characters are still there. I was being an asshole, being a bit petulant.” Thankfully, Grillo’s son brought him to his senses. “He said, ‘This is going to be the biggest movie in the world,’ and he was right,” Grillo said. “And I had a beautiful time. They did the ten-year anniversary, Stan Lee was there, and I stood and went, ‘What an asshole I am!’” Frank Grillo’s cameo in Avengers: Endgame was brief, but it was great to see the character again, not to mention the fun callback to The Winter Soldier as Captain America (Chris Evans) tricked Rumlow into handing over Loki’s sceptre.
Frank Grillo has previously spoken of his disappointment about how Crossbones was handled in the MCU. He told ComicBook.com in 2021 that “The trajectory of Crossbones took a turn and he was out of the series really quickly, right? And I was a little pissed off about it.” Grillo continued, “And it was like, ‘Oh, you’re going to be part of the Marvel Universe, right?’ And it didn’t happen. And so they called me and they said, ‘Look, we need you to come down for a week for Avengers,’ and I’m like, ‘For what?’ And they go, ‘Well, we can’t…’ I’m like, ‘No, I’m not doing it.’ So I hung up. I get a call back. I’m like, ‘I’m not coming. Leave me alone’ And like… who am I? Who am I, right?” In addition to the Avengers: Endgame cameo, Frank Grillo also returned to voice Brock Rumlow/Crossbones in several episodes of Marvel’s What If…? series for Disney+. The actor has plenty of projects in the works, including a return to The Purge franchise.