Would you believe it if we told you that the Rambo star Sylvester Stallone has recently caused one of the biggest inconsistencies in James Gunn’s DCU? Well, if you’ve noticed the curious inconsistency surrounding Frank Grillo’s appearance as Rick Flag Sr., then you’d be shocked to know that it happened because of Stallone.
During a recent interview with Collider, as James Gunn finally addressed the widespread confusion surrounding Rick Flag Sr’s hair color across multiple DC projects, he humorously blamed Sylvester Stallone’s Tulsa King for it. Explaining how Stallone ended up tangled in a DCU continuity surrounding Frank Grillo’s character, Gunn addressed people’s disappointments.
Fans are Disappointed with Frank Grillo’s Appearance Inconsistency as Rick Flag Sr.
Ever since James Gunn took the reins, reshaping the DCEU with fresh visions and bold reboots, the DC Universe has stirred a bit of confusion among fans. One unexpected source of bewilderment that has emerged recently is Frank Grillo’s portrayal of Rick Flag Sr. across various DC projects. While Grillo is famously known for his Marvel role as Crossbones, his appearance in DC as a Nick Fury-like figure has caused some excitement.
While people are hyped to see Frank Grillo switch franchises and appear in the animated series Creature Commandos, Peacemaker Season 2, and even the upcoming Superman movie, it’s his hair color inconsistency that has raised a few eyebrows. Although people are excited to see him as the grizzled DC hero, Grillo’s continuity error in regards to hair color has become more than just a minor quibble.
Considering how the marketing for Creature Commandos featured Rick Flag Sr. with striking white hair, giving the character a more seasoned, almost elder warrior look—it’s Frank Grillo’s dark hair for Peacemaker Season 2 and Superman that’s been sparking confusion. Wondering why James Gunn would allow such continuity errors rather than spray painting Grillo’s hair white, netizens raised questions.
Given how James Gunn could have easily avoided this mistake with a fake wig or spray painting the hair to give a smooth and logical transition, fans wondered about the backstory.
James Gunn Humorously Blamed Sylvester Stallone’s Tulsa King for the DC Inconsistency
Therefore, finally addressing people’s concerns surrounding Frank Grillo’s hair color controversy, during an interview with Collider, James Gunn dropped the most unexpected explanation for it. Surprisingly putting the blame on the Rocky legend and Rambo star, Sylvester Stallone, Gunn stated that the actor was indirectly tied to the hair color snafu.
According to James Gunn, as Frank Grillo was shooting for Sylvester Stallone‘s hit Paramount+ series Tulsa King while being committed to DC Studios, he couldn’t ask Grillo to change his hair color to match the comic-accurate version of Rick Flag Sr’s white hair. Therefore, Gunn had to adjust to Grillo’s natural dark hair across various DC projects.
Why is Rick Flag’s hair white in Creature Commandos but black in Superman?
Because that m*therf*cker Frank Grillo was shooting Tulsa King when we were shooting Peacemaker and so…
Further, explaining how they were originally planning on asking Frank Grillo to dye his hair white when James Gunn noticed the popular comment about spray paint, the DC CEO mentioned how odd the concept of spray painted hair looks on people. Therefore, stating how they had to adjust to the actor’s natural hair, Gunn explained the hair inconsistency.
We were gonna originally do the white, he was gonna dye it white, you know. But then I saw somebody the other day saying what about temporary hair dye… and I’m like ‘looks like sh*t. Yes, I have heard of that and it looks like absolute sh*t when you put fake grey on somebody’s very dark black hair’.
So it seems that while Frank Grillo’s appearance in Sylvester Stallone’s Tulsa King caused a hair hiccup in DCU, there’s only so much that James Gunn could do. Therefore, with a humorous explanation, Gunn noted that when multiple stars juggle different roles across various projects, continuity errors—though frustrating—become sometimes unavoidable.
Tulsa King is currently available to watch on Paramount +.
