The Marvel Cinematic Universe was established in 2008 with the release of Iron Man, and with it came the introduction of a number of key characters, including Robert Downey Jr.’s Tony Stark, Gwyneth Paltrow’s Pepper Potts, Samuel L. Jackson’s Nick Fury, Clark Gregg’s Phil Coulson and Jon Favreau’s Happy Hogan. It also feature Terrence Howard as James “Rhodey” Rhodes. However, the actor’s time as Rhodes was short-lived, because he was replaced by Don Cheadle in the 2010 sequel, Iron Man 2.
The initial intention was certainly for Howard to play Rhodes beyond the original. He was an established actor, with credits like Crash, Ray and Hustle & Flow, for which he earned an Academy Award nomination. He was also the highest-paid star in the MCU’s inaugural film, earning $3.5 million, compared to Downey’s $500,000 salary. (With his history of legal and drug-abuse problems, and no action movies to his resume, Downey was still considered a risk at the time he was cast as Tony Stark.)
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Howard’s line “next time, baby” also implied there were plans for him to become War Machine later in the franchise, but Howard left the role a few months after Iron Man was released.
NOTE: This article was update May 31, 2021, by Kevin Melrose to expand upon Terrence Howard’s comments about his departure, and to update Don Cheadle’s credits as James “Rhodey” Rhodes.
Why Terrence Howard Was Recast in Iron Man 2
Downey’s salary was to increase exponentially for Iron Man 2, to a rumored $10 million, plus a cut of back-end profits. That, in turn, meant Marvel Studios would dramatically slash Howard’s pay, to what the actor said was just $40,000 per film. That didn’t sit well with Howard, who claimed to have helped Downey to land the role, going so far as to take a $1 million pay cut for Iron Man if the studio would hire Downey. Marvel insists Howard played no part in Downey’s casting.
“Apparently the contracts that we write and sign aren’t worth the paper that they’re printed on sometimes,” Howard told NPR in 2008. “Promises aren’t kept and good-faith negotiations aren’t always held up.”
Amid Howard’s departure, rumors swirled that the actor was difficult on the set of Iron Man. Entertainment Weekly cited one source who claimed director Jon Favreau and producers weren’t happy with Howard’s performance, forcing them to edit or reshoot scenes. Because 0f that, the story goes, when Favreau and writer Justin Theroux began planning Iron Man 2, they ended up reducing Howard’s role. That smaller part in the sequel led Marvel to call Howard’s agents back to the negotiation table.
Why Terrence Howard Says He Was ‘Pushed’ Out of the MCU Role
Seldom soft-spoken, Howard has addressed the circumstances surrounding his recasting in Iron Man 2 on multiple occasions, perhaps most notably during a 2013 appearance on Bravo’s Watch What Happens Live, in which he placed the blame on Downey.
“This is gonna get me in a lot of trouble,” Howard said. “It turns out that the person that I helped become Iron Man, when it was time to re-up for the second one took the money that was supposed to go to me and pushed me out.”
“We did a three-picture deal,” he continued. “You did the deal ahead of time. A certain amount for the first one. For the second, a certain amount. For the third … they came to me for the second one and said, ‘We will pay you one-eighth of what we contractually had for you, because we think the second one will be successful with or without you.’ And I called my friend that I helped get the first job, and he didn’t call me back for three months.”
Howard elaborated on his attempts to reach Downey in a 2015 Rolling Stone profile: “I called Robby and was like, ‘Look, man…’ Leaving messages with his assistants, called him at least 17 times that day and 21 the next and finally left a message saying, ‘Look, man, I need the help that I gave you.’ Never heard from him. And guess who got the millions I was supposed to get? He got the whole franchise, so I’ve actually given him $100 million, which ends up being a $100 million loss for me from me trying to look after somebody, but, you know, to this day I would do the same thing. It’s just my nature.”
Don Cheadle’s Lengthy Career as War Machine
Following his debut as Rhodey in Iron Man 2, Cheadle reprised the role in six MCU movies, including Iron Man 3, Avengers: Age of Ultron, Captain America: Civil War, Avengers: Infinity War, Captain Marvel and Avengers: Endgame. That’s in addition to his 2021 cameo in the Disney+ series The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, and his lead role in the streaming platform’s upcoming drama Armor Wars.
Cheadle confirmed in February that he’s “pretty sure” the death of Downey’s Tony Stark in Avengers: Endgame will play a role in Armor Wars.
“Where we’ve been sort of progressing Rhodey — even in the last film where he’s now up again and he’s now walking again and he’s now mobile again,” Cheadle told BroBible’s Post-Credits podcast. “So as the technology continues to develop and we keep making innovations in the suit and what happens, I imagine there’s gonna be another elevation and another way that we’re going to keep digging into that part of Rhodey.”
What Has Terrence Howard Done Since Iron Man?
While Howard was no longer War Machine, his career continued to thrive. He worked on movies like The Princess and the Frog, Red Tails and St. Vincent, as well as TV series like Law & Order: LA, Empire and Wayward Pines.
Howard announced in September 2019 that he was retiring from acting, saying he had “spent 37 years pretending to be people, so that people can pretend to watch and enjoy.” However, since then he was announced to direct and star in the television pilot Delta Blues, and, more recently, he was cast in the British sci-fi film Beneath.
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