Don Cheadle Replaces Terrence Howard as Iron Man Sidekick

The mega hit Iron Man ultimately got lost in the shuffle of The Dark Knight this summer, but still became one of the summers best non-Dark Knight movies. In 2010, Iron Man 2 is scheduled to come out, with Robert Downey Jr donning Tony Stark's armor again. It was expected that Terrence Howard, who plays Stark's army friend Jim Rhodes, would also get to suit up as Rhodes' comic book alter ego, War Machine. But if War Machine flys with Iron Man in the sequel, it won't be Howard under the mask.

In a surprise move, Terrence Howard has been replaced on Iron Man 2 and will not reprise his role in the original as Rhodes. Instead, the part has been recast and already filled by fellow Oscar nominated actor Don Cheadle, according to the Hollywood Reporter.

The loss of Howard apparently came due to failed contract negotiations. According to the Hollywood Reporter, Howard and Marvel Studios also had other unspecified differences that led to the recasting. There was no official comment by Marvel Studios.

Now Don Cheadle steps in to replace Howard for Iron Man 2. Aside from the Oceans franchise, Cheadle has not appeared in any big blockbuster movies, nor has Cheadle been in the kind of special effects extravaganza that Iron Man offers. However, comic book movies have tended to cast accomplished character actors like Downey Jr, Christian Bale, Heath Ledger and Toby Maguire in the past, which has paid off handsomely for them.

As for Howard, this is a blow to a career that had taken off in 2005 with Crash and his Oscar nominated part in Hustle and Flow. But since then, Howard had been relegated to mediocre films like The Brave One, Pride, August Rush and Awake. Howard had received good notices in Iron Man, but his co-star Downey got most of the attention from audiences and critics.

This isn't the first time comic book franchises have recast roles. Lead characters like Batman, Superman and other heroes get new actors all the time, but in this case, it is a supporting character that is played by a new actor. But this has been done before by a franchise that Iron Man wants to live up to, the new Batman series.