"Don Cheadle is stepping in to replace Terrence Howard in "Iron Man 2," Marvel Studios' sequel to its summer blockbuster.
In the movie, Howard played Jim Rhodes, Tony Stark/Iron Man's best friend and future armor-clad hero War Machine. One scene featured Howard looking at a silver suit of armor and saying "Next time," a line that caused great delight for fans.
But there will be no next time for Howard.
Marvel had no comment, but sources close to the deal said negotiations with Howard fell through over financial differences, among other reasons. Marvel, which had wanted to work with Cheadle, then decided to take the role in another direction and approached the actor, who is shooting Antoine Fuqua's "Brooklyn's Finest" with Richard Gere and Ethan Hawke.
Rhodes is expected to play a larger part in the sequel, which is rumored to go beyond high-tech villains. Justin Theroux is writing the screenplay."
Why wouldn't Marvel play ball with Howard?
In the end, it's character actor (Cheadle) vs. leading man (Howard)...and apparently it boiled down to character actor money vs. a leading man payday.
This reminds me of Tank's transformation into Link in the sequels to the Matrix films in a dispute that appears to have been over salary...
1 comment:
This is one of those "DAAAAAAAAMMMMMNNNNNN!" moments. Sometimes you gotta take the financial hit for the box office slam dunk. But too often are black actors being underpaid...it is hard out there for a pimp :)
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