Marvel veteran Don Cheadle addresses how much longer he plans to keep playing War Machine in the MCU following Armor Wars. Initially played by Terrence Howard in the original Iron Man before Cheadle took over for Iron Man 2, James "Rhodey" Rhodes is now one of the longest-tenured characters in the MCU. After getting his hands on some impressive Tony Stark technology, Rhodes becomes War Machine, a hero who most recently helped to defeat Thanos (Josh Brolin) in Avengers: Endgame. After his brief appearance in The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, Cheadle's War Machine is set to get his very own show with the upcoming Armor Wars.

Although first announced back in 2020, information on Armor Wars has been hard to come by. It was recently confirmed, however, that the War Machine series would finally start filming this fall, with Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige confirming at D23 Expo 2022 that the show will consist of 6 episodes. Specific plot details remain under wraps, but Armor Wars is expected to adapt the classic Marvel Comics series that sees Stark's Iron Man technology find its way into the wrong hands. It's unclear who will star in the upcoming show alongside Cheadle, but many fans have been wondering what the future holds for Cheadle's War Machine in the MCU after this series. Now, the star offers his thoughts on the matter.

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In a new interview with Yahoo! Entertainment's Kevin Polowy, Cheadle addresses his future as War Machine in the MCU, explaining that he's just taking projects as they come. The actor says he agreed to do Armor Wars because "it was interesting and it sounded fun," and that he'll maintain a similar standard for projects going forward. If a project doesn't tick those boxes, Cheadle explains, then he's not obligated to participate. Check out Cheadle's full comment below when asked what future MCU movies or shows he might take on:

"I just kinda take it as it lies, you know what I mean? [Armor Wars] is something that was pitched to me, was something they wanted to do, and it was interesting and sounded fun. An opportunity to actually do more with this character. So yeah, I'm in. You know, at this point... we know there's going to be more opportunities to do it, nobody's [twisting] anybody's arm. It's like, does this sound like something that would be fun? Is this something where we could really do something that is exciting and is interesting? Cause if not, we don't need to show up."

Don Cheadle as Rhodey in his War Machine suit

After the exit of both Robert Downey Jr.'s Iron Man and Chris Evans' Captain America in Avengers: Endgame, Cheadle's War Machine is now one of the longest-serving Avengers. It's unclear how Armor Wars will tackle War Machine's legacy and his position as a veteran Avenger, but Cheadle's comment suggests that it might leave the door open for future appearances down the line. Plus, with Black Panther: Wakanda Forever introducing Riri William, aka Ironheart, who will seemingly sport similar Stark-inspired armor technology, it seems inevitable that the two characters will meet in the MCU at some point.

With so many original characters now having died or otherwise moved on in the MCU, War Machine remains one of the few connections to Phase 1. Cheadle recently shot down rumors that War Machine will become the next Iron Man, suggesting Rhodes won't take on a Stark-like leadership role, in Armor Wars or beyond. While War Machine's future is still something of a question mark outside of Armor Wars, Cheadle's comment certainly affirms that fans shouldn't have to bid farewell to the character anytime soon, so long as the projects he's being offered keep being interesting.

Source: Kevin Polowy/ Twitter

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