Yes, you read that right, Don Cheadle as Tony Stark’s best buddy in Iron Man 2 will be donning the War Machine armor.
Our friends over at TrailerAddict.com have an interview from EW where they talk to Robert Downey Jr. briefly about transitioning from his Sherlock Holmes movie back into Iron Man mode. During the interview he was asked if he could reveal a tiny tidbit about the movie, and he talks about the characters – and he lets slip a nugget about Don Cheadle as Rhodey.
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A little background for you non-Ferrophiles (that’s the Iron Man equivalent of a “Trekkie”): In the comic book, the War Machine armor was originally created by Tony Stark to deal with team of super bad guys. Later on the suit was built specifically for James Rhodes. It was designed for all-out warfare. It was also known as the “Variable Threat Response Battle Suit.” Click here for more details on the War Machine armor.
Anyway, at around the 1:14 mark Robert says this in the interview:
…it’s about Don Cheadle now playing Rhodey, and therefore War Machine…”
The last time we heard about the possibility of the War Machine armor showing up in the film was back in September when Terrence Howard was still in the role (I’m betting Terrence Howard will be really, really annoyed).
Check out the video for yourself:
Downey Jr. goes on to say:
“The film is almost entirely about character, and yet we still have twice as much action as we did last time, so it’s going to be nuts,” Robert tells our own Thea Andrews of the super sequel, set to start filming Monday. “Essentially ‘Iron Man 2‘ is about looking behind the armor, or the armature, of a superhero. It’s one thing to say you’re ‘Iron Man,’ it’s another thing to be fully ready to do that.”
In other movie details, Robert Downey Jr. spoke with MTV about the possibility of the “Demon in a Bottle” story arc from the comics (where Tony Stark spirals into full blown alcoholism and loses everything) being incorporated into this sequel:
“We’re going for the interim space [between the origin story and 'Demon in a Bottle'], which is more a look behind the mask of someone who says he’s Iron Man and what it really is to become a superhero.”
You can head over to MTV for more info at the link below.
Also, shooting on the movie starts on Monday and additional cast members include Garry Shandling(?) and John Slattery.
So what do you think? Are you stoked to hear we’ll get to see War Machine on the big screen?
Iron Man 2 opens on May 7, 2010.
Sources: Trailer Addict, MTV Splash Page
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36 Comments
From what I’ve read James Rhodes is going to gear up as War Machine to work for Justin Hammer against Iron Man in the sequel. I have a screen grab from the leaked trailer on my blog for any interested parties.
I agree with Desolate One. Sometimes mediocre acting can be overlooked if the actor casted fits the particular role. Let’s take Topher Grace as Eddie Brock for example. He had a witty side to him, I actually enjoyed his little quips with the other characters on screen, but was he really a believable Venom…really? Regardless of how great his acting was (not saying his acting was great by any means), his portrayal of the role would always be lacking because, as a person, he doesn’t fit our perception of the comic book character. In the same way, as great as Don Cheadle is as an actor, I just can’t see him being James Rhodes/War Machine. The actor who by far best resembles Rhodey both in appearance and in personality is Michael Jai White (the guy who played spawn) but he’s not Hollywood enough to have the role in this movie. Oh well.
Also, there’s really no need for both armored heroes at this stage of the game. To use the model of another comic franchise, the current Batman films are so good because of the slowed pace. Take a few movies to truly develop the main character before you add sidekicks. I don’t smell Robin anywhere near those movies and if he makes an appearance, it’ll be as Dick Grayson, not the pun slinging boy wonder. I understand that War Machine is more of a partner than a sidekick and WAY cooler than Robin, but I think waiting until the third movie to bring him in is a better move.
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