The REAL Reason Marvel Fired War Machine 

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

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

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

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.

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.

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

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.

I personally liked Terrance's performance and wouldn't of minded seeing him go all the way; but business is business and I like Don too.

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

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.

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.

Love Terrance Howard, and was disappointed when he wasn’t coming back for Iron Man 2, but Don killed it so I was quickly over it, which is usually rare cases.

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

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.

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.

The Chead is the best. Love that guy. I'm honestly always excited when he pops up around the MCU (like his cameo in The Falcon and the Winter Soldier). Can't wait for him to take the leading man role in Disney+'s . He deserves it!

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

Looking forward to Rhodes being front and center in Armor Wars

Terrance Howard has had so many chances to “break out” and make tons of money but he sabotages himself repeatedly. Don Cheadle is a working actor and a professional so is it better to have a “artist” or someone who understands this is a team effort and plays well with others? I think Marvel made a great choice.

Important to note that the director cut down his scenes. The relationship of characters is acted out in small gestures throughout the film. If you reduce the number of scenes they are in pre-shoot, they have to give a more concentrated performance, become more of an archetype of themselves - hence "supporting role". If you do that post shoot... You simply water down the performance. Honestly, it's crazy to suggest that Howard's performance was the problem, when our only metric of judging that is by taking the word of Favreau, who himself edited Howard out of the movie. Important to note - Favreau's taste in movies is a subject of debate (Jungle book, Lion king, Cowboys vs Aliens? Etc...). It's very much possible that War Machine had was a co-lead in the original movie, and it was Favreau's personal bias that completely changed the tone of the movie. Studios don't pay 4 million for an actor they don't plan on using.

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

Don Cheadel to Terrence Howard: "Boom, you looking for this?" showing the war machine role and the $40M

I like Terrance Howard and I didn't mind him as Rhodey in the first Iron Man. And his situation absolutely sucks, if he was screwed out of the role as he claims. That said...I honestly think Don Cheadle suits the role far more than Howard did. The means by which Cheadle got the role is messy, but it worked out in the end.

There’s nobody other than Cheadle I could imagine doing the “Yeah he’s a king” “what are you doing” scene.

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 😂

I feel like Terrence was mad that he was Iron Man's sidekick and not Iron Man himself. Tbh, Don's performance is way better imo

5:24 that music

Very good video. Well researched and clearly states when you jump into conjecture.

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.

Don Cheadle nominated for an Emmy in a "and now, let me explain things" tertiary role is hilarious.

I was fortunate enough to be on the set of the first 2 movies, and after the first one it was weird seeing Cheadle play the role. TH was perhaps the coolest guy on set. Very nice to all of the servicemen and women, I included. Talked with the guy for a solid 10 minutes about the industry, and trying to figure out what to do when they were done for the day. He was in disbelief when he had no real place to go to off of base outside of driving all the way back to LA for a night-life scene. GP was ...... as unpleasant as the stories about her. Truly! RD Jr. was super in the role. Method acting I believe. I just know that at the time of the first movie TH was coming off of being nominated for the Oscar and he got paid a great fee for Iron Man. If I"m not mistaken he was paid the most for the first flick because of that. If that is the case, the rest of what I believe to be true would make sense. IM2 was supposed to really bring in the War Machine and at the current pay rate of TH, he wanted even more for a sequel that actually was going to be focused on him far more. There is no way a supporting actor should make more than the lead in 2 movies with half of the screen time. Especially when the man that is on screen as Iron Man also has an Oscar under his belt. TH priced himself out of the role. Cheadle was a great pick up for less bucks.

When I originally heard that his pay was cut to a million if he wanted to appear in Iron Man 2 I took his side considering how much more of a role the character played after the first film. I didn't know that had he accepted he was actually going to have a much smaller role than in the original. So in the end I'm glad he was replaced.

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.

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

dude rdj is literally the perfect casting for tony stark, like both are someone that has struggled with addiction and with substance abuse, i wish we had gotten to see more of that in the movies

I personally thought Terrence Howard was a better War Machine since he has more of a presence in the movie. He commands more attention. Don Cheadle, for me, is forgettable and doesn't add any character to the role. I like Don Cheadle, I just believe his War Machine performances weren't good. With that said - There's a comment below that many people are overlooking and I wish this youtube video covered. I'll copy/paste it below - as this is the real reason why Terrence had to decline: "the contract for the first film already covered the sequence, this is very common, to sign and agree with the salary for the next movies, if and when they were to be released, in the contract usually the studio is only obligated to hire with the defined salary if the sequel would be made, which protect the studio if the project fails. These contract are used to ensure the salary of the actors do not deviate and go thru the roof once the franchise is very successful, it is very common for those franchise to sign a contract for 3 movies at least, Chris Evans for example mention several times that he was very reluctant to sign and was convinced by Downey Jr. because he didnt' want to be contractually tied for 10 years. Now back to Terrence contract: according to him, his contract already covered the shooting of the sequence for the same salary, and when disney get back offering less, it should be a violation of his contract. Only then Howard found out that the contract only obligated him to participate in the movie for that value if Disney wanted to pay it, but Disney was not obligated to honor that value if it choose not to do it. this was a low blow, he felt tricked by the legal nuances, which really puts him in a hard spot. Accepting this change not only set precedence to receive less in future projects but also set a precedence to the studio to continue this kind of contractual exploit with him and other actors (something that lawers disney seem to be experts)"

I’m disappointed that you didn’t mention ike pearlmutter marvels ceo at the time. The guy was pulling all the strings at that time and had a huge part on not paying Terrence

You know, technically, Terrence was never war machine. Don Cheadle became war machine. Terrence was simply Lt. Colonel Rhodes.

I really liked Terrance Howard in the first movie, and expected him to come back for sequels. He was perfect for that role. And his armor was literally like Iron Man himself. If he'd just accepted that "smaller" paycheck for Iron Man 2, he would have made a fortune just sticking to his character. But now its too late for that. Must have been frustrating to see how "his" role just kept getting bigger, and bigger, and bigger. He missed out on being a full part of this now legendary set of movies. Its a tragedy really.

I actually really liked Terrence‘s performance, the slightly friendly but still professional persona was not seen again by war machine and for me made it a struggle to like wall machine in the future

Could you do a video about how Chris Evans got a second chance to star in another Marvel film.

Don Cheadle has more best friend chemistry with RDJ than Terrance.

Howard seemed like a diva in some of the interviews I saw him give. I really liked him in Hustle and Flow, but he appears so few times in Iron Man that it felt like they could have cast some aspiring actor for the role, instead. I didn't know the studio didn't want RDJ at first, which seems effing insane lol

I was always curious to know why they didn’t use him in the rest of them. He fit the character perfectly.

Remember Endgame? Neb: **after removing the orb** "I wasn't always like this..." Rod: "Yeah, me neither..." [**Flashback**]

This makes me wonder, how much better of a deal was Cheadle? He had a fairly impressive resume at the time too, but maybe he was more down to earth about what the role was going to be/worth in salary. And of course just a better fit for the character (as someone not at all familiar with War Machine outside of the MCU). So I definitely didn't mind it. I sometimes wonder how Norton would have done in the team up movies. Probably not as lighthearted as Ruffalo has been. Less fun to have on set too, I imagine.

I think replacing Howard for Cheadle was the right call. In the first movie, Howard played Rodey in a uppity and energetic tone, but it just seemed to clash with RDJ because the two played the characters in such a similar manner. Cheadle, in contrast, plays the role in a lot more of a quiet, but also more serious manner, which I think counterbalanced RDJ’s energy very well.

3:40 John Favreau was ultimately "UNhappy" with Terrence Howards performance🤣🤣

Howard was still offered the role, just at a massive pay cut. That means someone (Favreau and other management level people) didn't want him to reprise his role. All he had to do was just take the pay cut and he'd still be War Machine, that was his choice. Don Cheadle likely will forever be grateful to Howard for turning it down. Besides, who doesn't like Donny Cheadle!!

3 different Hulks 2 different Rhodes 2 different Fantastic 4 families and Dr. Dooms 4 different Spider Man/Men 2 different Quick Silvers... We've been watching the multiverse of madness all along!! 😳 😜😆😆

what? how? in my memory of watching whole ironman movies, first time war machine introduced to the series was played by Don Cheadle. i don't even remember when war machine played by another actor.

This is pretty spot on imho. I thought that Terrence Howard's performance was pretty lackluster in Ironman. I was pretty pleased when he was replaced with Don Cheadle. It's hard to explain, but every time Howard tried to give his lines in a military setting, it felt so out of place; it almost felt like Howard was playing DJay (his Hustle & Flow character) as if he had gone into the military instead of pimping/rapping. Meanwhile, Cheadle nailed the part of a career military officer balancing a friendship with someone like Stark. Side Note: I had no idea RDJ was only paid $500,000 for the first Iron Man. I know he was on the career rebound, but wow.

I was aware about the financial disagreement and that was why he walked away and really, I understand his perspective and why he did what he did. What I didn't know is that he has been publicly stating things about the franchise haha.

Robert Downey Jr was perfect casting. Addictions and all, kind of mirrored his real life a bit.

I think Terrance Howard gives off more of a commanding presence than Don Cheadle. Even though it hurts to have your expected earnings cut to 1/8, it's mean to go after people for things they didn't do. But yeah, acting is a lot trickier than we usually think it is.

The line "It's me. I'm here. Deal with it." is most likely a meta way of telling the audience to not stress about it. At least that's what I think. EDIT: Thanks for the likes!

I'd love to see Terrance and Norton cameo in LOKI.

Did you cover what happened to Ed Norton yet? I remember being in theatres for Avengers and wondering where Norton was.

Terrence howard would love to see tha armor wars and thinking bout how much he will got if playing in those series

I was annoyed with my suspension of disbelief being tainted...until Don said "it's me I'm here deal with it." Now that's how you intro a recast.

I like the fact it's never mentioned in the films that Rhody stealing the Warmachine armour was ALLOWED by Stark. It would've been easy for Stark to switch off the Warmachine armour, but he obviously chooses to let Rhody take the armour. And he never makes it known that he let him take it because that's how cool Stark is.

Cheadle is so much more fun to watch. Ironman3, multisuit sequence, loved it.

I never even noticed the recast until I rewatched iron man a few years later

I like how Terrence claims he is the one that recommended RDJ to play as Iron Man but it was actually Stan Lee that requested him. Sounds to me like he's bitter over the success of the MCU so he says something like that to show some sort of involvement.

With all due respect to Terrance Howard, I'm somewhat with Jon Favreau- I know he was just a side character, but he didn't really do much with the role. He seemed very monotone and uncaring. Don Cheadle was a great replacement, and even if he isn't spectacular all the time, his role generally is well done. Not nearly as bored/uncaring, at least in my opinion

Don is a perfect fit for the role today, and i think he plays it really well

I really liked Terrance Howard in Iron Man and it was a little jarring when I saw the switch in Iron Man 2. That said, I don't think his performance in the first film was worth $4-$5 million in comparison to RDJ's, much less the subsequent films. I'd have preferred Terrance to continue over Cheadle who, while a competent actor and someone worthy of the role, didn't feel like he had the same chemistry with RDJ on screen in my opinion. The later MCU films where he featured were quite good of course, but in the Iron Man films specifically he didn't feel as good.

I can understand Terrence's perspective. He was friends with Robert D Junior. He pushed for him and then they dropped his pay and cut his part. Terrence is a great actor and he is more charismatic as an actor. But Don... I think he fits the image of Rhode better. He seems like more of a stoic soldier.

I really liked Terrence Howard. He was cool and funny. But Don Also does a Spectacular Job but still it would have been amazing if Howard was still War Machine.

Get video, wonderfully thought out and expressed

Great text, thanks!

We now have variants and the multiverse. Terrence could easily come back as War Machine from another timeline. Won't happen, but it's cool to think about.

That counter offer literally came on the day Terrance was at his mother's funeral. THEY NEVER WANTED HIM BACK.

1:18 wow it's two of my favorite joker together

I liked Howards and Downeys chemistry in the first movie, would have been cool if he saw the potential like RDJ did

What stands out to me is how few actors were changed in the MCU. Those movies are running for almost 15 years now, so I would expect more actors to be forced to leave the project in such a long time. I also think that we as viewers are somewhat spoiled by that not recasting characters if the actor left policy. Look at Superman or Batman - they were forced to recast the character and it was fine (except for the movies that weren't, but those were bad because the werebad, not because of the recasting) It is just us viewers who make such a big fuzz about recasting roles and stuff.

On the next episode of “What If?” What if Marvel kept Terrence Howard as Rhodey?

I'm a big fan of marvel comics book since childhood, i knew the originals, the old school stuff. Yes from a character perspective Terence Howard could have been the war machine, sad that Idris Elba was already playing Heimdall, could have been the one better over all, but nontheless i was not thrilled by Howard's performance, at all at any moment, Don Cheadle on the other hand surprised me a lot. a Different version but a nice one, and he proved it. Heard too, that Howard was difficult to work with, like a F diva, just like Norton in hulk, in the long run Ruffalo made a fine good job. Plus It was very important that all Avengers share connection because Team, from that point of view they did it well i really liked all the interactions between them, which we see evolve and lead to friendship, trust and finally victory, a family.

All understandable. This video says everything that needs to be said. No one can blame Howard for not wanting to come back for 1 million after making 8 million on the first. It was small of Howard to attempt to blame RDJ. Blame studio execs and possibly Favreau but def not RDJ

I've dealt with a lot of different soldiers in my life and Howard honestly fit that role more than Cheadle did, but I totally understand why the studio cut him, based on the video and the issues Ive heard/read of in the past with Howard's or his agent. Looking at that time period, when the studio knew they had a road of 10 years of movies down the road for them and these characters, it must have been a huge red flag to see this guy arguing for more money right before the second movie. I bet that they figured this would be a constant renegotiation after every success and frankly was more headache than he was worth. Heck, they were paying the sidekick way more than the leading actor for goodness sakes.

The fact that I couldn't care less about the answer to this question is probably indicative of why he wasn't brought back

Don Cheadle's interpretation of Rhodey is far more relatable than Terrence Howard's. In the end, that's what matters in any film. Success depends on audience perception.

They let War Machine go because he was the next Iron Man hero in line. Sure, he couldn't have done it with style like Tony, but I believe Rhodes had a chance to show off how the big guns play and get shit done. Maybe next time.

To be real honest, in my opinion it was a noticeable difference when Howard was replaced. I like Cheadle just fine, but I really thought Howard nailed it. He had amazing chemistry with RDJ and he just had a better comedic feel. He would have made Rhody a better character. Imo.

I thought that it was purely because of Howard's and RDJ's egos clashing. This gave much more of a perspective I should've looked more upon. Great video!

0:34 that must have been a slap in the face for Terrence Howard and the people who wanted to see him in iron man 2

Great video

I liked Terrence Howard in the first Iron Man. I would even say that I was disappointed in Cheadle's performance in Iron Man 2 vs Howard's in the first movie. (Maybe that was because it was a pared down role though. I certainly enjoyed Cheadle's work in subsequent movies.) That said, I can't bring myself to feel bad for Old Baby Wipes Howard not getting that Marvel money.

The reason you don't really notice how bad Terrence Howard was is that Favreau used the best parts he could get out of him for the way they wanted the role to be played.

They should've hired Idris Elba to play Roadie, right from the get-go. He would've been perfect, imo. (And Idris was basically wasted as Heimdal, in the Thor films that came later.)

I agree with Howard. You have to say no and stand your ground if you feel you're being taken advantage of. They gave him a contract for 3 - 4 million, he rightfully is expecting a raise to 8 and they offer him 1. Total slap in the face. They (Marvel) could have offered 4 - 6 million instead of 1 and have been okay, but don't give him a 80+% pay cut and expect him to be fine with it. RDJ should have been the highest paid for his work on both films, however, RDJ was radioactive at that time as very few (if any) studios would touch him based on his past problems. Just the insuring of a film project with a guy with the problems he had would be impossible. SO for the 1st film, while he was the key character, you get why he was paid less. If Favreau didn't like his performance that's fine, but what did Terrence really do in Iron Man 1 that he couldn't improve upon in IM2 ? This was a shit way of handling their business, they could have gone to Favreau and checked with him first about bringing him back, if Favreau said he was unhappy with Howard, just tell Howard we liked your work but we're going in a different direction, and no need to insult him with a bullshit salary offer.

In the end Howard IS a great actor, maybe even better than Cheadle BUT he wasn't the best Rhodey. The tone of the MCU isn't his strengths. I think there's something in saying it did kind of kill his career, as a superstar, as a name to bring in an audience but I think he still has a pick of great projects.

Imagine the MCU if Terrence Howard and Edward Norton were still there

The thing is that at the time, Iron Man was a HUGE gamble. Terrence Howard was the draw and most bankable name. So much so that War Machine was slated to have his own spinoff film, per what I’ve read. This also explains why Howard expected X amount of dollars because he was slated for his own film. But, because of the success of Iron Man, the MCU blossomed and flourished. RDJ redeemed himself in the eyes of Hollywood and the MCU started to flesh out its overall arch. Quiet as kept, Jeff Bridges had the same effect with career redemption (Tron, True Grit, then floundered with RIPD)

I see it for what it was: a business decision. Terrance Howard and the studio couldn't agree on a contract for him to reprise the role in Iron Man 2 so they parted ways, and Don Cheadle was cast as James Rhodes/Iron Patriot/War Machine.

The fact that someone had to point out to me that they replaced the actor playing War Machine in the subsequent movies probably says all you need to know about the impact the first actor had on the first Iron Man movie. He was - certainly in the edit as I know the film - a completely interchangeable secondary character. I honestly had to go back to the first movie to check they were not the same guy.

its the studio fault. they should of never promised terrance more money than the main actor

Im bad at remembering names so I didn't realize they were ment to be the same character. I just thought "former arms Barron has more than one friend in the military" which actually made a lot more sense.

Reason being nobody remembered terraces performance as war machine in iron man 1 but everyone remembers don, when I saw iron man 1 a bit ago I forgot he was supposed to be rowdy he fit more like a background character easy to forget about

I thought this was the one thing everyone did know why he got fired for.