Frank Grillo Shocks Fans With New Marvel Project—Release Date, Cast Details & Exclusive First Look

Frank Grillo’s high-octane real life nearly matched his on-screen action heroics this week when a Delta Air Lines jet carrying the 60-year-old actor made an emergency landing in Albuquerque after an engine burst into flames mid-flight. Hours earlier, the Purge and Captain America star had told paparazzi that he still had “boxes to tick” before his “time’s up,” an eerie remark that’s now going viral on social media. The frightening incident left passengers shaken but unharmed, and Grillo later thanked the flight crew on Instagram, calling them “true superheroes.” The close call comes as the New York-born actor gears up for a flood of screen time in the DC Universe. Hitting the DCU at full throttle After stealing scenes as Crossbones in Marvel’s Captain America franchise, Grillo is trading the MCU for James Gunn’s revamped DCU, and he’s not hiding his enthusiasm. In a recent Collider interview he contrasted the “family-style” set atmosphere Gunn fosters with the “well-oiled machine” of Kevin Feige’s Marvel operation, saying the DCU lets him “dig deeper” into character work. First up is Creature Commandos, the R-rated animated miniseries arriving this fall, where Grillo voices—and reportedly performs mo-cap for—Vietnam veteran Rick Flag Sr. The actor teased that the grizzled “silver-fox” look seen in promo art will cross over into live action “sooner than fans think,” hinting at an appearance in Peacemaker Season 2 or a future Suicide Squad project. Why the timing matters The emergency landing has inadvertently thrust Grillo into the wider entertainment conversation just as Google search interest in his name is spiking. Analysts note that real-world scares often boost an actor’s visibility right before a major release, and Warner Bros. is expected to drop a new Superman teaser at San Diego Comic-Con next week—one in which insiders say Grillo’s Flag Sr. may cameo. What’s next for Frank Grillo • Creature Commandos (Max, October 2025) • Peacemaker Season 2 (filming Q1 2026) • The Purge 6 script finalized; Grillo “ready to return” as Leo Barnes • Untitled MMA drama he’s producing through his company, War Tribe For an actor who literally walked away from a burning jet engine, the momentum surrounding Frank Grillo’s career is anything but cooling off.