Frank Grillo's Rick Flag looking over his shoulder angrily while leaning against something in Peacemaker season 2

EXCLUSIVE: Rick Flag is back in a big way in Man of Tomorrow.

The next installment in the DC Universe serves as a follow-up to James Gunn's Superman, in which David Corenswet's titular character has to reluctantly work alongside Nicholas Hoult's Lex Luthor to fight the dangerous Brainiac. The Man of Tomorrow cast includes both franchise vets and new faces, ranging from Rachel Brosnahan's Lois Lane to Nathan Fillion's Guy Gardner, Isabela Merced's Hawkgirl, Milly Alcock's Supergirl, Aaron Pierre's John Stewart and Xolo Maridueña's Blue Beetle.

Another confirmed to return is that of Frank Grillo as Rick Flag Sr., father to Joel Kinnaman's Rick Flag from the Suicide Squad films, who just offered a new tease of his Man of Tomorrow return in an interview with ScreenRant's Liam Crowley for Tulsa King season 4. The DCU star confirmed that his A.R.G.U.S. character is going to play an "integral part" in the Superman sequel, even teasing he has a future in the franchise beyond the film:

Frank Grillo: Superman 2, Man of Tomorrow, in a big way. He's a big, integral part of Man of Tomorrow. And, certainly, I don't think I'm out of line saying there's more of Rick Flag after Man of Tomorrow. [Aaron Pierre's John Stewart in Man of Tomorrow is in it], so the worlds do collide at some point. What Gunn is brilliant at doing is integrating the timelines, and it's all about the timeline. So, we'll see [about a fight with Flag], maybe.

Since his introduction in Creature Commandos season 1, Grillo's Flag Sr. has been steadily becoming a more prominent figure in Gunn's DCU plans. Having been near-mortally wounded in the HBO series before watching Metropolis nearly be destroyed by Lex Luthor's actions in Superman, he has been steadily mounting an anti-metahuman campaign through A.R.G.U.S., with Peacemaker season 2 ending with him getting the government's approval to utilize the Salvation dimension as a prison for them, beginning with John Cena's titular character.

Grillo's confirmation that Flag Sr. has a pivotal role in the Superman sequel could very well be pointing to Salvation similarly having a big part in Man of Tomorrow's plot. Gunn has already confirmed that the film will appropriately be set in Summer 2027, same as its release window, which would put it nearly two years after Peacemaker season 2's finale. This would, in turn, reasonably set up that A.R.G.U.S. has captured multiple metahumans and vigilantes and sent them to the alternate dimension.

Though not yet confirmed to appear in the film, Grillo's bigger part in Man of Tomorrow could also allude to Jennifer Holland's Emilia Harcourt making her DCU return in the sequel. With her having had a romantic past with Flag Jr., and something of an emotional bond with Sr. following his death, there is a chance that she'll have to confront Grillo's character in the hopes of letting him release those kept imprisoned in Salvation to help Superman and Luthor in their fight against Brainiac.

Gunn may even have teased in one of his early Man of Tomorrow set photos that Harcourt and her Peacemaker friends would be returning with Luthor's prisoner lanyard situated next to a chessboard. The Peacemaker season 2 finale saw Chris, Harcourt, Economos, Adebayo and Vigilante, along with Sasha Bordeaux, Langston Fleury and Judomaster assemble with the new agency, Checkmate, and given the group are likely also just as concerned about Chris' fate, and thus may be using their resources to try and save him.

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Rick Flag’s “Integral” Role In Superman Sequel Man Of Tomorrow Teased By DCU Star