Geez, when is a guy supposed to sleep? I hit the sack last night after watching Heroes, and wake up to the earth-shattering news that Terrence Howard will not be reprising his role as Jim Rhodes in Iron Man 2! He’s been replaced by…
Don Cheadle?
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Apparently the swap is due to dollar signs. No specifics have leaked out, but Howard probably wanted more than Marvel was offering him to play the role in the sequel to the highly successful first film. It’s well known that Marvel tried to lowball director Jon Favreau for his return to the big chair for Iron Man 2. I’m sure that everyone will be getting bigger paychecks but I guess things didn’t work out with Terrence.
What’s ironic about this is that he’s been fired up since day one about expanding his role and getting to play another armored character very big in the world of Iron Man: War Machine. Even back during the 2007 Comic-Con during the roundtable interview I attended, he had a spark in his eye when the possibility of donning the silver armor was mentioned. Also, no doubt he would have had a much larger role in the sequel than he did in Iron Man.
This is a real head-scratcher and the first bit of bad news surrounding the budding franchise.
Now I was never a big fan of Terrence Howard in the role of James Rhodes - being a longtime reader of the comic book, I thought he was too soft-spoken for the role. So who do I think would have been a great “Rhodey?”
Wesley Snipes.
Yeah, yeah - he doesn’t have the acting chops of Howard, but he’s a much better match for the hard-edged, feet-on-the-ground military man that was Rhodey in the comics. He’s even the right age to match up with Robert Downey Jr.
So what about Don Cheadle? He’s a fine actor and I enjoy him in his films, but again, he doesn’t strike me as Jim Rhodes. And I just cannot picture him donning the War Machine armor.
Maybe I need to go watch his latest film Traitor to get a feel for him an a more action-adventure type of role, but right now I can’t get the character he played in Ocean’s 11, 12 & 13 out of my head.
I know that a lot of people are big fans of Terrence Howard as Tony Stark’s best friend and I think (my personal preferences notwithstanding) that switching actors is not a good thing. It’ll be jarring (at least initially) to buy into Cheadle playing Rhodes when every other character in the film wil be played by the same actors that appeared in the first one.
I mean if this becomes a trilogy, it has the possibility of hitting $1.5 BILLION worldwide in the end in box office alone, and if War Machine/Rhodes will be a pivotal character in the next film you’d think the studio could toss a few more bucks at Howard. Of course I have no idea what he’s asking for, so who knows whether it’s unreasonable or not.
Source: Hollywood Reporter
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39 Comments
Cheadle is one of my favourite actors and although I like him much better than Howard, I hate the idea of character replacements during a franchise of films.
If money made Howard leave then that’s his loss bigtime. He just took himself out of the future spotlight as a mainstream badass superhero.
Not what I’d call good news. I was never a fan of Howard’s being cast as Rhodes, and unlike Downey, nothing in the first film really convinced me that I was wrong with my initial reaction. That being said, when a movie makes the kind of money that Iron Man did, it only makes sense that people are going to want to be paid. If this is more about Marvel being cheapskates than it is about Howard being unreasonable, I’d like to have words with whomever is making these decisions…maybe blows.
No! Say it isnt so Vic! This is some sort of cruel joke! Ive never been a big fan of Howard before Iron Man, but when he was cast as Rhodes, I thought it was perfect casting. He just looked like him. Now Im starting to worry about the sequel. What if they decide to save money elsewhere and cut Fav’s budget? Didnt Iron Man make alot of money for Marvel? (im being sarcastic, of course it did!) They should be able to pay for all the actors to return. This is bad.
And Cheadle? I like him, he’s a good actor, but I dont like him as Rhodes. I’ll agree that Snipes would be a better fit. Is this confirmed by someone at Marvel or by Howard himself? If they are not bringing back Mr Howard, get Wesley Snipes!
Sorry to hear this ,
I am surprised Money was such an issue for Howard.
he seemed so fired up to be War Machine.
Oh well.
I really never like Terrence Howard bieng Rhodes, and I’m not to sure on Don Cheadle. Good/Great actors but not for this character. I thought personally tha maybe Michael Jai White or Chiwetel Ejiofor would’ve made betta Rhodes. Their tone and look would be more convicing.
Like you said, Rhodes was hardly even in the first film, I doubt it’ll be hard for audiences to look past this if they do it right.
Rev
This is unbelievable. What terrible news. I cannot believe that Marvel would do this. Terrence did such a great job in the first movie, and he would have been incredible as War Machine. Why would Marvel risk messing with an enormously successful franchise in Iron Man for Don Cheadle? I mean, the first movie almost made $600 million worldwide and Terrence got great reviews for his performance and fans seem to really be happy with Terrence. This is extremely disappointing news.
Its OK as long as no one else is replaced.
Then, it might start to affect the production.
this sucks!!!! Howard was just the right type for rhodes. Cheadle is short! didn’t everyone have deals in place already. the studios always lock people in first. maybe it is not true.
Vic your on point. Howard was WAY to soft for Rhodey,IMHO. Snipes is perfect and this would help him restore is superstar profile. How out of ALL the excellent black actors in Hollywood that could fit the military mold of Rhodey(Wesley Snipes, Blaire Underwood, Morris Chestnut, Jamie Foxx, Ty Diggs, Jae White just to name a few)you pick Don Cheadle?!? Gees, COME ON! Don’t get me wrong, Don is an excellent actor, but he just does not look military enough to be Rhodey.
I hope this is false, sorry Vic.
If this is true, then Howard’s an idiot not to be attach to the franchise.
Wow!Even though I thought Terrence Howard was the weakest casting link in IM,I didn’t think they would replace him now.While Don Cheadle is a very good actor,I don’t see him as an upgrade as opposed to Howard as Rhodes either.
What about Laurence Fishburne as Rhodey?He may be a little older but IMHO he’d make a good fit.
Good riddance !! Money is always an issue, this is a business. Why don’t they get Michael Jay White? Or someone muscular a bit? None of their choices make me believe they can play soldier form head to toe.
I am deeply saddened by this. I never heard of Terrence Howard before IM, but became a huge fan. I LOVED him as Rhodes. Knowing he is not going to be in the sequel is like losing a member of the family.
im a fan from way back,the man that should be war machine, should be spawn’s michel jai white his tone, the way he carrie his body weight,this man, is believable as a superhero
I am very sad at this news. I am a big fan of the Vol1 comics and thought that he did a fine job at being rhodes. I totally HATE when studios change the characters.
i really hope this is just a bad mouth taste and all is resolved
The only thing I find crazy is how many fans can’t get behind Don Cheadle. I’m a reader from way back and agree with Vic that Terrence wasn’t right for Rhodey. Don Cheadle is an amazing actor and more than capable of bringing a military seriousness to the role.
I of course don’t have inside info, but if I had to guess, I REALLY don’t think Marvel’s at fault here. Terrence Howard is CRAZY. Look up the toilet paper interview… look up the interview with MTV where he jumped out of the chair to dodge imaginary gunfire…. The spark in his eye during interviews about War Machine always seemed to me like he expected to have the full spotlight in a future IRON MAN installment. That might be fine if the franchise went on endlessly like 007, but with maybe what… perhaps only 3 IRON MAN movies ever… there’s no way they should sideline the main character just for War Machine. I bet the role wasn’t big enough for Terrence. Plus, there was that interview where he exclaimed, “Do you know what I get paid for the next one?! And the one after that?!”. He always seemed out of touch to me.
This is a huge bummer.
RDJ, must be ok with this, since he has final say on everything Iron Man…(Don’t doubt it fans)
Cheadle is too nervous and constapated looking…
He always looks like he on the run from Fox River or someplace bad…
He dosnt come cheap ether,,, this is another Marvel A-list move… Something tells me that money wasn’t the reason they re-booted him.
LameLameLameLame…
I have no ideas on who should play this role, kinda think they ruined it for now….
Isn’t Wesley Snipes in prison or something?? lol
Lol, Short Stuff,,
Snipes is Blade,,, don’t cross that line Marvel…
(You Bastards)
Marvel didnt tell Howard to reject the money that was offered him.
Howard chose to do that.
I heard that Howard has something else lined up & it created a conflict. You would think Marvel would be fine paying him more $$. But it’s still too bad. And I don’t agree that RDJ has final say either. I am sure he would not want to break up the current cast.
If Howard is replaced here is my choice. Michael Jai White. He would fit the Rhodes mold to a tee. The right build, right voice..definetly the action hero type(UNLIKE Cheadle). An all around good Rhodes / War Machine fit IMHO. As a reminder he played Al Simmons/ Spawn in the unmemorable movie of the same name in 1997.
-keyboard spazz-
I was definitely iffy about Howard as Rhodes at first mainly because I couldn’t see him as anything other than a pimp turned rapper from Hustle and Flow. But you know what? I thought he worked. Though his role wasn’t anything out of this world, I thought he did a good job! It’s suckish that he won’t be reprising his role, it really is. That’s like turning Katie Holmes into Maggie Gyllenhaal…only much more devastating. Much, much more.
I can’t see Don Cheadle as the sidekick. He just doesn’t seem like the superhero-y flick type guy. But then again, neither did Downey, ane he turned out to be fantastic. I’m definitely feeling indifferent, but we’ll just have to wait and see.
and LOL. Wesley Snipes? Ever since To Wonf Foo, I can’t see him as anything other than a drag queen. You guys wanna see a movie made of epic fail that’ll make you laugh at the cheeseball and feeling slightly uncomfortable, that’s the one for you.
Sucks that T. Howard is out. He was fun as Rodey. Would’ve loved to see him toss on the War Machine armor. Cheadle’s a phenominal actor. He’d suck as War Machine though.
I think Michael Jai White would fit the look, but the problem is, he can’t act… lol
I’m going to say it because I see only a few eluding to it. While Terrence passed as the character, he is just way to femme for the role and that voice? Someone please give him some gin and a cigarette to throttle the pipes.
That Howard made the dollar sign twostep out of this role is TRULY his loss. Cheadle has better acting chops to be sure, and I have to wonder - are we going to see hair prosthetics like we saw on Director Jonathan Favreau? It would work just fine and help to sell the role.
I thought Howard did a good job as Rodey but its his loss unless it was Marvel that was being unreasonable (which wouldn’t suprise me). Im not sure who could take the reins as War Machine but I rather they didn’t replace characters. Its just a pain and annoying.
How about Christopher Judge from Stargate SG-1 as Rhodey? He certainly has the right build and military bearing about him. Not the same type of star that Cheadle is, but the core audience of IM will know him for sure. I bet that Chris Judge would cost less than Cheadle, too….
As much as I like Christopher Judge because I’m a big SG-1 fan, I’m not sure how he would look at Rhodey. Seeing him talk “human” and not all proper like his Jaffa character would just be too weird… lol
What’s really interesting is that Judge is a total goofball off camera - always has the most gigantic smile on his face.
Vic
Yah, and that just might be a little weird as Rhodey don’t you think?
Indeed…
lol
i agree lol
I almost think he would have trouble takeing the part seriously
Thanks for the heads up. Now, I won’t waste time seeing the sequel. No offense to Don Cheadle but he is too scrawny to be anybody’s idea of a superhero. Wesley Snipes would have been a better choice in both films. There goes the neighborhood!Dang, eveh husband would make a better War Machine than Don Cheadle! I wonder if it’s too late for him to audition. LOL
I will wait for it on video now. They kept the same characters in all the othe franchises, but this one, that ruins it for me.
I think Chris Judge would be great as Rhody.
Ken J. If you’ve seen all of SG-1 then you’ve seen Teal’c act like a normal human. There was an episode of SG-1 where Teal’c was in dream half the time and the other half he was on a planet with Bra’tac sharing Teal’c symbiote because Bra’tac’s was inured. During the episode, half the time he was a fire fighter and Bra’tac was his father-in-law, and he was going to be donating a kidney to him.
Joe, I’ve seen every episode of SG-1 at least three times. I know which episode you’re talking about. My point is that I can’t see him as a normal person, when I saw that episode, I was expecting an “indeed” from him at any moment even while he was supposed to be human, lol. I’m not saying he won’t be able to do it, it’s just that my mind might not be able to accept a non-jaffa him, lol.
In respect to the comic character Jim ‘Rhodey’ Rodes — Howard was not a great choice and brought a ’softer’ persona to the silver screen then we expected. But in that same respect, Cheadle is a worse choice. Both men are great actors, neither are Jim Rhodes.
All this news of changing around characters is making me worried, Iron Man 2 has so such potential, it’s going to be a blockbuster opening obviously. Why ruin the dynamic formula that made it so great by F–ing up the continuity?
I say changing writers to a comedic writer was a mistake, I can’t see the person who wrote Tropic Thunder catching the essence of Tony Stark/Iron Man or his supporting cast in a script.
The 3-D decision makes it feel childish, to me. I don’t need things poppping out at me, I want to enjoy quality writing directing and acting — spend the money there, not on special effects that do nothing but distract us from the actual film.
I hear now that the person who played his father is changing? The films were planned a franchise, so can we actually do some… uh… planning.
Of course, some of these items are probably fodder… well that’s good.
Marvel, Jon… P-L-E-A-S-E do not ruin this film… you have my confidence despite the nonsense I’m reading.
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