Terrence Howard played James “Rhodey” Rhodes in the first MCU movie, Iron Man. Rhodey is a celebrated soldier with a strong moral compass, and Howard did a memorable job playing the role. There was a hint he’d appear in the next film. But problems during filming led to Don Cheadle taking over the role.
It isn’t easy to compare Don Cheadle and Terrence Howard’s MCU performances as both the actors brought a unique perspective to the character. Cheadle’s warm rapport with Tony fits with the more lighthearted direction of the MCU, while Howard’s serious depiction suited a Colonel’s role better.
Many Marvelites know that Don Cheadle wasn’t originally James Rhodes, it was Oscar-nominated actor Terrance Howard in the original Iron Man in 2008. But nobody knows what happened that led to the replacement.
Don Cheadle Says He Didn’t “move Terrence out of a role”
So, first of all, it’s clear to say that Don Cheadle didn’t move Terrence Howard out of a role – as he has said during an interview with GQ. The filmmakers decided that Howard would not be any more in the upcoming Iron Man films.
Cheadle said that he was at his kid’s laser tag party when the filmmakers called him. He said:
“They called me and said, this is what’s happening, we’re giving you the offer, you don’t say yes, we’re going to the next person. This is gonna happen very fast.”
The Crash actor said that they only gave him one hour to decide whether he wanted to take the deal. He was like:
“It’s a six movie deal how can I decide in an hour. In an hour I’ve to decide?
The filmmakers didn’t know much about the upcoming Iron Man movie, but they just wanted Cheadle to play the part.
Why Did Filmmakers Replace Terrence Howard?
Howard was not as important for Iron Man 2 as he was for its predecessor. The Hustle & Flow star mentioned this during a 2013 interview on the Watch What Happens Live late-night talk show, recalling how Marvel tried to renegotiate his salary. He said:
“They came to me with the second and said, ‘Look, 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.’”
The filmmakers asked him to accept a pay reduction from $8 million to $1 million (which he wasn’t keen to get). Who stepped away from the negotiation is unclear, but it doesn’t matter – Howard was gone from one of the most loved franchises, and Cheadle was in!
Source: CBR
