Don Cheadle reveals Armor Wars won't begin filming until next year. Marvel Studios announced at the end of 2020 that Cheadle will return to the Marvel Cinematic Universe and star in a solo project as James Rhodes. The War Machine solo Disney+ series will adapt the famous Iron Man comic storyline Armor Wars. The show comes after Cheadle has spent more than a decade as a supporting character in the MCU, including his brief Emmy-nominated role in The Falcon and The Winter Soldier.

The announcement of Armor Wars was an exciting moment for plenty of fans, even if the adaptation likely won't include Robert Downey Jr.'s Tony Stark. Instead, his legacy is expected to be a big part of the show as Rhodey potentially has to deal with how other people are using Stark's technology. There hasn't been much news on Armor Wars since it was announced, though. The show does not have any confirmed writers, directors, or co-stars for Cheadle. Now, the star has provided an update on when the show will begin filming.

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Cheadle is currently out doing press for his role in Warner Bros.' Space Jam: A New Legacy, but he's repeatedly been asked about Armor Wars during the promotional tour, too. He's said that they are just starting to crack the story, and a new interview with AP Entertainment includes an update on filming. Unfortunately for those hoping Armor Wars will arrive sooner than later, Cheadle has now revealed that production likely won't start until sometime in 2022. Here's what he had to say about the series:

It's going to be interesting. We are just talking about what that show is going to be. We probably will start filming sometime next year and are just cracking the story right now. Deciding what's that journey going to look like, what the iteration of this is going to be. Obviously, if people know Armor Wars they know what the series is about. But it's also figuring out how to establish and dig really deep into who Rhodey is because we haven't really seen a lot of that in the movies.

Title card for the Armor Wars series

The news that Armor Wars won't start filming until 2022 will likely come as somewhat of a surprise to those who have been following the show's development. Despite the limited information released about the series, Cheadle said at the start of 2021 that Armor Wars started filming in a few months. It is unclear what led to this delay for Armor Wars. The story could've changed from what Marvel originally was planning and set the series back, or perhaps Cheadle misspoke earlier about when filming would begin.

With Armor Wars not entering production until next year, the show will likely be among the group of MCU shows to debut on Disney+ in 2023. Marvel's usual filming schedules have been impacted by COVID-19, but they traditionally start production on their movies and shows about a year before they'll be released. That would put Armor Wars on track for an early 2023 release date. As long as the show continues to make progress, hopefully there will be plenty of updates on the cast and story before production begins.

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Source: AP Entertainment

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