MCU: Crossbones Will Return For Avengers 4 - In A Flashback?!
Frank Grillo's villain is making a surprising return to the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
Despite dying in Captain America: Civil War, Frank Grillo's Crossbones is returning to the MCU.
Speaking on the UFC Unfiltered podcast, Grillo confirmed that he'd be reprising his role as Brock Rumlow - which he performed in both The Winter Soldier and Civil War - in next year's still-untitled Avengers 4, but with a catch:
"He makes an appearance in the next Avengers movie. But it's a flashback … I'm allowed to say whatever I want because I'm never doing another Marvel movie."
We've known for some time that Avengers 4 will be revisiting events of the past, with set photos showing Captain America in his 2012 suit, and it's quite likely that, while some time-travel will be involved (courtesy of the Quantum Realm), there'll also be a use of Tony Stark's BARF technology to look at the past too, which is presumably the sort of flashbacks Grillo is referring to here. It's only been a theory until now, but his comments make BARF's involvement all the more likely, unless he is conflating flashbacks with actual time travel to the past (which is possible).
What's less clear is where exactly Crossbones fits in this: he's not a major player or someone you'd particularly expect to be involved in Avengers 4, so it begs the question of which moment involving him they're going back to? One option is the start of Civil War, and the incident with Scarlet Witch that led to the Sokovia Accords and tore the Avengers apart - that rift could be seen as giving Thanos an opening.
Alternatively, and even more intriguingly, it could be something we haven't actually seen on screen before, linking to Hydra and a plan to prevent Thanos from getting his hands on the Infinity Stones.
What do you think Crossbones' flashback scene will be? Let us know down in the comments.