The REAL Reason Marvel Fired War Machine

War Machine is now a mainstay in the Avengers franchise. The character of James Rhodes has come a long way since Iron Man 1, especially when it comes to the actor who plays him. War Machine has been played by both Terrence Howard and Don Cheadle, but why the switch?

#WarMachine #IronMan #Nerdstalgic

Writer - Chris Teregis
Editor - Brian Nappi

[cattameme]

"NEXT TIME, BABY!" - Terrence Howard, Last online 11 years ago.

[MansKompany]

The fact that Terrence said, "Next time baby!"
And never got that next time. 😔

[aymanriki]

It really was a shame because Terrance Howard's personality and appearance did resemble very comic book accurate War Machine, but Don Cheadle over the years proved his place. Crazy that he is nearing his late 50's.

[TryinBin]

I really like Don Chaedle and find it a shame his role was diminished in Iron Man 2 due to the Terrance Howard dispute between Marvel and his Agency. I always wonder how the MCU would've played out if War Machine had retained his relevance in the whole of the Iron Man trilogy

[salkjdfhalsdgfkauhg]

Fun Fact: Don Cheadle is very confused as to why he won that award.

[hyprspd]

Don Cheadle felt like he genuinely enjoyed playing the character
Terence's performance felt like he didn't care for the film or the characters

[mobilelegendsmemes]

IMO It's hard to compare them since Terrence didn't even had the chance to wear the suit or get into action

[davids]

Howard's character was never meant to be an equal to Tony Stark in the movie. Howard was paid for his star status, because RDJ had no star status before Ironman 1. So when Ironman 2 came about, things had changed. Howard wanted to get paid as an equal star in the movie. Disney/Marvel disagreed. Marvel turned out to be right. Good for Cheadle. Not so good for Howard.

[AveryTalksAboutStuff]

They both did a good job but Don Cheadle really embodies Rhody for me. He's had much more time with the part so I guess that makes sense.

[WicoYT]

Looking forward to Rhodes being front and center in Armor Wars

[retrokoh]

On one hand, I can understand Terrance's perspective... and to be frank, I really liked him in that role in I.M. 1. That said, he had to know he wasn't going to get THAT kind of pay as a sidekick. Sometimes you need to take the short-term cut for longer-term benefit. Iron Man didn't kill his career. HE killed his career.

[pheasantplucker]

I thought Terrence Howard played a good part in the first movie but I had absolutely no idea that Rhodes and Stark were supposed to be good friends. I know now they are supposed to have a turbulent friendship but Terrence Howard played it so straight that I was completely unaware they were friends at all, it just seemed like Rhodes knew Stark through work but didn't have a lot of time for him. Once Don Cheadle came in you could suddenly see the warmth and camaraderie between the two of them. I imagine it's similar to Eric Stoltz as Marty McFly - a hell of a good actor who's just not quite right for that particular role.

[fireteamblue]

“Look it’s me, I’m here, deal with it.” Real AF way to address the swap

[FinancialShinanigan]

Don can pull off the lighthearted banter with other Marvel leads, I don't see Terrence doing that.

[angelbustos]

I can't imagine the scene in Age of Ultron when Rhodes sees the Vision for the first time performed better than what Cheadle did. It's one of my favorite scenes 😂

[FerociousMit]

Robert did so well in iron man because he played a character that was much like himself in real life. A tragic soul who wanted to change and help people, becoming a hero.

[AmericanPatriots]

Let's be honest. The movie was called Iron Man. This was Terrance Howard's ego getting the best of him. They were still going to offer him twice what RDJ took for the first movie and he was the leading role. Sometimes it's worth taking a short game loss for long-term gain. That's what Don Cheadle did. Howard's loss was Cheadle's gain.

[lotus]

I find the theory that Terrence was let go because he was difficult to work with quite believable actually
you can clearly see from interviews he had a certain ego and stubbornness
not to mention the spectacle that is his saga in trying to prove 1X1=2

[jeebsunabia]

Honestly? It's about ego. Terrence Howard's ego works on Empire, because Lucius Lyon is a man of ego. James Rhodes is all about loyalty - and honestly, Don Cheadle exudes that more, and is a better fit.

[cdusdrei]

Hiring Don Cheadle, who was really seen in the behind the scenes as someone who geniuinely enjoys the character and being a support character for Iron Man, was the best move they could ever make.

The man basically owned the role because he understood the nature of the media he is working in. Howard on the other hand, felt like he had this "I'm the big star and I don't care if this movie fails" attitude to him.