Frank Grillo Teases Rick Flag Sr.’s Future Beyond ‘Man of Tomorrow’, and It Sounds Big

Rick Flag Sr. has quietly become one of the most intriguing threads in James Gunn’s DC Universe. The character has gone from animated newcomer to a rising power broker, and the buzz around Frank Grillo’s Rick Flag Sr. in ‘Man of Tomorrow’ keeps growing.

Grillo first voiced the role in the animated series ‘Creature Commandos’ before bringing the character to live action in ‘Superman’ and ‘Peacemaker’ season 2. Along the way, Flag, the father of Joel Kinnaman’s Rick Flag Jr. from ‘The Suicide Squad’, took over leadership of A.R.G.U.S. from Amanda Waller.

Now Grillo has confirmed that the character is no minor presence in the Superman sequel. During an interview with Screen Rant for ‘Tulsa King’ season 4, he described Flag as a big, integral part of ‘Man of Tomorrow‘ and said he doesn’t think he’s “out of line saying there’s more of Rick Flag after ‘Man of Tomorrow’.”

That second part is the real eyebrow-raiser. It suggests Flag’s story won’t wrap up when the sequel’s credits roll, even though Grillo didn’t say where the character turns up next.

This isn’t the first hint that Flag Sr. matters to the sequel. Grillo previously told The Hollywood Reporter that the character is a big part of the story. Gunn has also said that ‘Peacemaker’ showed the start of an unlikely partnership between Flag and Lex Luthor, adding that it isn’t the end of that.

Gunn has been clear that Flag isn’t a straightforward villain. He has described the character as conflicted about arresting Superman, and as increasingly wary of the balance of power between governments, corporations and metahumans. Gunn has also called the DCU “one big story” that involves Salvation, Rick Flag, Lex and Superman.

Salvation is the forested prison dimension where Flag trapped Peacemaker at the end of his season 2 storyline. That has fueled fan speculation about whether the sequel will revisit it, especially after a set photo of Nicholas Hoult by a lake sparked talk about Lex’s fate.

The sequel to 2025’s ‘Superman’ arrives in theaters on July 9, 2027, with Gunn writing and directing. David Corenswet’s Superman is forced to team up with his adversary Lex Luthor, played by Hoult, to take on a far bigger threat: the super-intelligent Brainiac, played by Lars Eidinger.

Production is already behind them. Gunn announced that principal photography wrapped after 93 days, 1 day more than the first film, and he has since confirmed that the assembly cut is complete and that he is already writing his next movie. Grillo himself wrapped his main work in May, then flew back to Atlanta 7 weeks later to shoot more scenes.

The ensemble is stacked. Rachel Brosnahan returns as Lois Lane, Milly Alcock is back as Supergirl, and Aaron Pierre joins as John Stewart. Isabela Merced, Nathan Fillion and Edi Gathegi are also among the returning faces.

Grillo’s farewell to the project was warm. He expressed his love for Gunn, praised Corenswet’s take on Superman and said the film is going to be something special. He also hinted that there is more to come for his character, which now looks even more telling in light of his latest comments.

The pressure is on, since the first film grossed over $600 million worldwide and earned an 83% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes. Still, a sequel with Superman, Lex, Brainiac and a growing DCU mythology, all with Flag Sr. in the mix, gives Gunn plenty of material to build on.

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