DON CHEADLE IS A WAR MACHINE

well that is a shame.

Huh. Really? This really happen? This is real? Really? Well. Huh. Really? Terrance Howard walked away? You sure? Did you not run articles on this very website that had Howard state he signed for all three? I could have sworn that you did. If this is indeed real... it's a Maggie Gyllenhall situation. It worked well for TDK. It will hopefully work well for IM2:JFHBOFSAWRFOYPC2010.

this is weird? what the? is he crazy or something, why would he walk away from Iron Man, even because of money, being a major part of the sequel is enough to stay.

Not just a major part in the sequel, but I imagine that Marvel would consider making a War Machine movie if they thought there was enough interest. All the same, I am a founding member in the "Give Don Cheadle An Oscar Every Year Club' so I'm pretty happy about this

I guess Howard got tired of playing the 2nd fiddle "yes massa" black man role that kept him subjugated to the drunken lout billionaire white man character. But he would have gotten to wear cool armour + more screen time you say! Meh.

I remember reading on Defamer about a year ago that Howard has issues with women that might not make him popular if more talked about. One detail in the article (which ran in Vanity Fair initially, i think) was that he considered women unclean if they use normal toilet paper rather than baby wipes. And said he'd breakup with any woman who did not switch after he explained to them their uncleanliness. The guy is a PR nightmare waiting to happen.

Easily he wants to learn drumming from Richard Dreyfuss in a Holland sequel - except this time he dies in Iraq.

Bad move on his part. I like Cheadle but Howard was cool as hell and I could see him as war machine more than his replacement. The guy'll be kicking himself over this I guarantee it.

I heard that he'll break up with a girl if she eats her peas one at a time and/or has "Man Hands"...As long as he too uses baby wipes to clean up Terrence Jnr then fair's fair. In fact I'd love to see him do an Ad for babywipes on that very subject - "C'mon baby - Clean that shit up!". At least it's not the old "We used to rape women when I was part of a street gang - but it's okay, because I was only 12 at the time" type of weirdness.

Shame. I thought Howard was the only one in the original cast who wasn't playing his part like a caricature.

well in the light of this ridiculous clean fetish i think marvel found that out and chose to change the actor before it became common knowledge. its a shame. but he really is a weirdo and could endanger the franchise.

I'm glad he's gone. He never fit the tough military badass personality I expected from Rhodes anyway. Neither does Cheadle so i guess they're trying to make that mistake again. These iron man movies are shit. Zathura 2...

I'm torn here - It's a shame Howard won't be in the sequel, as I really liked damn near every scene he was in, and was eagerly anticipating seeing him in action as War Machine in the sequel. However, we are talking about Don Cheadle, who absolutely has the credentials to knock the role out of the park, and I would love to see him opposite Downey, especially if they do any of the "Demon in a Bottle" stuff. Great opportunity for some potentially fantastic dramatic scenes from the two.

Whoop that trick!

They're both wrong for the role. Rhodey is supposed to be a big macho black dude, not some fag like Howard or some skinny twerp like Cheadale. Think Ving Rahmes.

Jim Rhodes is an ex-military bad ass. Casting the often fey acting Howard was all sorts of wrong from the get go. This role demands physicality along with some action movie level acting chops, so they should be looking for Dwayne Johnson to fit that requirement or exceeded it with someone like Idris from The Wire (Stringer Bell). Now, if they can get rid of Paltrow.

Sorry, until I get a comment from someone at Marvel actually confirming this, this is just an unsubstantiated rumor, and one that I don't particularly believe.

Too bad Birmingham Brown is dead. Seeing him in the War Machine armor would be a hoot.

LD, getting rid of Paltrow?? So I guess it's time to start hating on this movie now? I thought she did a good job this film. Howard to me was a bit too soft spoken in this film, so I guess take this news with a grain of salt huh.

Maybe Judd Apatow could step in and hurl a bunch of shit at the actors and then say "do whatever" as he sits back, eats pancakes and casts his untalented wife in a lead role.

i cant believe this!

Seriously? This is unbelievable. What terrible news. I cannot believe that Marvel would do this. Terrence did such a great job in the first movie, and he would have been incredible as War Machine. Why would Marvel risk messing with an enormously successful franchise in Iron Man for Don Cheadle? I mean, the first movie almost made $600 million worldwide and Terrence got great reviews for his performance and fans seem to really be happy with Terrence. This is extremely disappointing news.

Cheadle over Howard? Prototypical Hollywood DUMBASS move. The most tickling part of the 1st one was the anticipation of seeing Terrence in the sequel.

Too bad for Howard, but anybody who thinks Cheadle can't handle the physicality or play a badass is terribly underestimating him. I could totally see DC slapping RDJ out of a drunken haze and telling him to grip on himself. A big part of what made the first one so good was Marvel finally had a movie with a SERIOUS cast. DC only adds to that chemistry.

I'd rather see 'Robo-Benson' than this film.

Howard did a darn good job and made a significant black character stand out wthout being the usual charicature, so this is pity. Right now I can't see Cheadle giving the appropriate physical presense and proud military bearing. But, of course, under estimating him is usually a mistake.

Rodney, don't blame Marvel for Terence Howard and his agents for strongarming for more money. Obviously we don't know the whole story here, but the deal is this: Howard has had a lot of potential since Hustle & Flow that he hasn't lived up to, and the truth is, he doesn't warrant a significant pay-raise right now. He's the one who just walked away from a huge franchise which boosted recognition for him yet again.

I will only believe this when they actually start shooting IM2 and Howard isn't there. Besides for as much crap Favreau had to deal with from Marvel publicly hanging him out to dry just to get the OK to direct the sequel(s), this news comes way too sudden to be taken seriously. On second thought, Marvel's loss can be DC's gain! Sadly, this could be the beginning of the end of Marvel's good fortune. Think about it. After correcting huge missteps by WB on the homoerotic Schumacher Batman movies, Singer's coming out of the closet and hack remake of the original 1978 Donner film with Superman Returns, and an even bigger hack Pitof's Catwoman, WB finally started to listen and work with DC (a company they have owned forever it seems) and produce V for Vendetta (good although a bastardization of a Alan Moore classic), Batman Begins/The Dark Knight (films speak for themselves), and the soon to be released Watchmen (which could be great enough mend even Alan Moore's heart). So things are looking up. Marvel, on the other hand: Spidey 1, respectable. Spidey 2, kick ass! Spidey 3, sucked ass! Fantastic Four/FF2:RotSS, only little kids could appreciate them because it felt like a '70's Saturday morning cartoon. Daredevil & Punisher (T. Jane), bitch about the acting if you want but the script and directing were the true letdowns. Hulk/The Incredible Hulk, second verse same as the first! Punisher: WarZone, Lexi's named director yes, Lexi actually directing it.... If this is the mindset @ Marvel, expect the law of diminishing returns to go into full effect and may not recover in time for the planned Avengers film.

Howard actually broke up with a woman for using Charmin over wet wipes? It can't be that hard out there for a pimp! But that... that's pimp. If that's true, that's unbelievable. More unbelievable than walking away from a huge franchise like "Iron Man".

I think Will Smith is the best role for WAR MACHINE out of the two they cast.

Dude that guy is FAT

BAHAHAHAHA!!! LOOK AT THE FATTY IN THE WAR MACHINE OUTFIT!