Marvel Studios’ Iron Man 2 will go into production minus one Oscar nominee. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Terrence Howard is being replaced by Don Cheadle in the role of Jim Rhodes, Tony Stark’s best friend. Robert Downey Jr. is expected to return as Stark, and Gwyneth Paltrow is on board to reprise the role of Stark’s assistant and love interest, Pepper Potts. Jon Favreau is back in the director’s chair, working from a screenplay by actor/writer Justin Theroux (Tropic Thunder).
Rumor has it that Marvel and Howard failed to see eye-to-eye on various issues, including money. The Rhodes character will play a bigger role in the sequel. In the comics, he eventually dons an armored suit of his own and becomes the superhero War Machine. This was hinted at in one scene in the first movie, in which Rhodes inspects a silver suit and says, ‘Next time.’
Cheadle is currently working with director Antoine Fuqua on Brooklyn’s Finest, co-starring with Richard Gere and Ethan Hawke. Most recently, Cheadle starred in and produced the cloak-and-dagger thriller Traitor, and is checking into Hotel for Dogs for DreamWorks.
