Rick Flag’s Big Role in James Gunn’s Superman Sequel

If you thought Rick Flag’s story in the DCU was finished, think again. Frank Grillo has confirmed that his Rick Flag Sr. will play a central role in Man of Tomorrow, the high-stakes follow-up to James Gunn’s Superman. This sequel picks up the pieces after the events of Superman, with David Corenswet’s Man of Steel reluctantly teaming up with Nicholas Hoult’s Lex Luthor to face a looming Brainiac threat.

The cast reads like a who’s who of the expanding DCU: Rachel Brosnahan as Lois Lane, Nathan Fillion stepping in as Guy Gardner, Isabela Merced as Hawkgirl, Millie Alcock as Supergirl, Aaron Pierre as John Stewart, and Xolo Maridueña as Blue Beetle. Each addition shifts the gravitational pull of the universe. Worlds are converging. Alliances will be tested.

Grillo, speaking with ScreenRant while promoting Tulsa King, didn’t mince words. He described Man of Tomorrow as Superman 2 on a grand scale and stressed that Rick Flag Sr., an ARGUS operative, will have a powerful, story-driving presence. He even hinted that this isn’t a one-film stop for the character — Flag’s arc could continue beyond this movie. With Aaron Pierre’s John Stewart already confirmed, Grillo suggested the film will deliberately cross timelines and character paths — something James Gunn has shown a knack for doing.

Rick Flag Sr. isn't just a cameo; he's being positioned as a fulcrum for the next phase of the DCU.

The seeds for Grillo’s expanded role were planted earlier. Rick Flag Sr. first appeared in Creature Commandos, where his near-death experience marked him as a key player in Gunn’s plans. In the original Superman, Lex Luthor’s actions pushed Metropolis to the brink, and Flag responded with a broad ARGUS campaign targeting metahumans. That campaign feels set to be a major engine driving Man of Tomorrow’s conflict.

Another plot thread worth watching: the Salvation dimension. Peacemaker season two ended with the government green-lighting Salvation as an off-world prison for superpowered prisoners — a setup that saw Chris Smith and others on the verge of being sent there. Because Gunn has placed Man of Tomorrow roughly two years after those events, it’s plausible ARGUS has since rounded up numerous metahumans and vigilantes and dispatched them to Salvation. If true, that prison could become a pivotal battleground in the film.

Jennifer Holland’s Emilia Harcourt hasn’t been formally confirmed for Man of Tomorrow, but Grillo’s prominent role raises the possibility of her return. Harcourt’s past ties to Rick Flag Jr. and her later emotional connection to Flag Sr. create fertile dramatic ground: might she try to free Salvation’s inmates to aid Superman and Luthor against Brainiac? It’s the sort of moral tug-of-war that fits neatly into Gunn’s larger tapestry.

Gunn may already have dropped hints. One early behind-the-scenes image showed Lex Luthor’s prisoner ID badge beside a chessboard — a small prop, perhaps, but one that suggests narrative chess pieces moving between the films and TV shows. And when Peacemaker’s survivors joined a new organization called Checkmate, they acquired the institutional muscle that could be used to change the course of other stories, including Superman’s.

So where does that leave us? Expect Man of Tomorrow to knit together strands from Creature Commandos, Peacemaker, and previous DC entries into a larger confrontation that reaches beyond a simple hero-versus-villain setup. Questions remain. Will Salvation be liberated? Will alliances hold? Only one certainty: James Gunn is staging a crossover with real consequences, and Rick Flag Sr. looks set to be at its center.