‘Marvel almost fired me’: A recurring MCU villain almost lost his job over spoilers

One thing everyone knows about Marvel is that it guards its secrets with more ferocity than a dragon guarding its hoard. Cast, crew, producers—really anyone involved in the production is expected to keep their mouth shut or face the consequences, as this MCU villain almost discovered.

Frank Grillo is known for playing the villain Brock Rumlow, a.k.a. Crossbones, in Captain America: The Winter Soldier, a role he reprised in Captain America: Civil War and then again in Avengers: Endgame. The actor has now stepped over the fence to join James Gunn at DC and will voice the character Rick Flag Sr. in the animated series Creature Commandos. The character is also set to star in the flesh in the Superman reboot, Superman: Legacy as well as season two of Peacemaker with Grillo remaining in the role.

Grillo has revealed that he almost ended his superhero career at Marvel for leaking news. Talking to ComicBook.com about his new DC role, he was guarded and hesitant to respond, saying, “You know, unfortunately, there’s nothing I can really say that wouldn’t get me in trouble. So I kind of have to step back and go, ‘I take the fifth.'” The actor opened up about how close he was to getting axed, on more than one occasion—much more:

I am so bad at this. Like, Marvel almost fired me 36 f—ing times because I don’t know. I never want to lie. And so, I do that a little too much. But I’ve been warned.

Now he’s in DC, the actor is not taking any chances. His participation in the rival superhero franchise does not mean he is averse to returning to Marvel. When asked if he’d return to revive Crossbones, the actor responded, “I don’t know, at this point in my life, all the things that I thought were real and true, I’ve learned as a man who’s now matured, that if they ask me to do that, I would love to go back and do it.” He wouldn’t be the first to cross the lines, nor the last.