It’s fun being right. It doesn’t happen all of the time. So when it does, I’m allowing myself a few minutes to gloat.
In an Instagram video that I posted to CinemaBlend’s page as part of my weekly superhero theory videos (you should watch them, they are informative), I told y’all that Frank Grillo’s upcoming interpretation of Rick Flag Sr. was going to be an important component of the brand new DCU that James Gunn and Peter Safran are building. We’re going to meet Grillo’s Rick Flag Sr. for the first time in the animated Creature Commandos, landing on Max in December. But we already can confirm a number of significant DCU projects in which Grillo will appear… and one of them will officially make Gunn’s 2021 thriller The Suicide Squad canon, and therefor the first official DCU project.
Let’s talk all about Rick Flag Sr., and how we now know he’ll connect to the DCU and the DCEU moving forward.
Rick Flag Sr. will have deeper connections to the DCU
At the time of his announcement of the 10-year plan for the new DCU, James Gunn said that Creature Commandos would start his endeavor into a revamped DC universe. Only, there also was going to be some carryover from the work that Gunn did with DC before officially taking the reins – specifically, Viola Davis would keep playing Amanda Waller for her own show, and the Peacemaker series was going to get a second season.
This instantly started nerdy conversations with elite DC fans about details from Peacemaker’s journey that would remain canon in the DCU. Like, we got to see Ezra Miller as The Flash. And Jason Momoa as Aquaman. And Peacemaker’s actions in Gunn’s The Suicide Squad might also mean THAT movie was canon to the DCU, as well.
It’s really a nitpick. James Gunn has the freedom to do whatever he wants. And if he chooses to have one storyline from The Suicide Squad continue, while ignoring others (like, perhaps, the fac that Margot Robbie plays Harley Quinn in that movie, which means that she might play Harley in future DCU movies… or not). However, as work on Peacemaker Season 2 gets underway, Frank Grillo just dropped an intriguing new video that proves Peacemaker’s actions in The Suicide Squad will inform plot decisions in the DCU. And that makes The Suicide Squad very important to several stories in the DCU moving forward.
Rick Flag Sr. has a grudge to settle with Peacemaker
Over on his own Instagram page, Frank Grillo posted this incredible new video where he talks about heading back to Atlanta to continue work on the anticipated Tulsa King Season 2, but also to join the fray on Peacemaker Season 2. Grillo posted a story, so I’m grabbing his quote, in case it disappears. He tells the camera:
It’s the start of Peacemaker. I got a bone to pick with John Cena. He killed my son, Rick Flag Jr. It’s about to go down. And I’m taking him with me.
When did John Cena’s Peacemaker kill Rick Flag Jr.? In The Suicide Squad. And now, in Peacemaker Season 2, the father will seek justice for events that happened in The Suicide Squad.
That makes The Suicide Squad canon to what happens in the DCU.
Some of that was evident. In addition to Peacemaker and Amanda Waller, we expected to continue to see Emilia Harcourt (Jennifer Holland) and John Economos (Steve Agee) in new stories in the DCU. However, they both appeared in Shazam: Fury of the Gods. So does that mean that Zachary Levi is still Shazam in the DCU? Man, this is a slippery slope…..
Where else are we going to see Rick Flag Sr.?
It’s actually starting to sound like Frank Grillo’s Rick Flag Sr. is going to be the Nick Fury character that binds all (or many) of the DCU projects together. He will lead the Creature Commandos when that animated series debuts in December. We have seen set photos confirming that Frank Grillo will appear in Superman when that movie arrives in theaters. And now Grillo is preparing to be in Peacemaker Season 2. That’s a significant share of early upcoming DC projects to feature Rick Flag Sr., making him a pivotal component of the story that Gunn wants to tell. And that makes me very excited.
