Don Cheadle Talks 'Iron Man 2'
Filed under: Action, Casting, Celebrities and Controversy, Newsstand, Comic/Superhero/Geek, Remakes and Sequels
We know that Terrence Howard was upset and confused about being dropped from Iron Man 2. Robert Downey Jr. admitted he was in the dark about the decision. Guess who else was perplexed by it -- the new Rhodey himself, Don Cheadle. IGN caught up with Cheadle, who was quick to describe the sudden and surprising offer from Marvel: "I got a phone call from my agent saying they were offering me the part. That was kind of it. It happened very fast, and I had a very short time to answer. Literally, overnight. I was unaware of what was happening with Terrence. And when they called me I asked what was going on with Terrence. I've worked with Terrence, I've known Terrence for a long time. And they said they were moving away from him. So it's not like I was taking Terrence's job, because the job was already gone. Someone else was going to do the part. I don't know who the next person in line was, but that's who they were going to. And I literally had a few hours to accept the job or not. "
Cheadle really signed on in blind faith, and has no idea what his role in Iron Man 2 will demand of him. "I can't reveal anything because I've seen nothing. I have no idea. There's no script yet. All I know is as much as you know, that Rhodey looked at that suit and said, 'Next time.' So I imagine I'm going to be in a suit ... I think the part will be bigger, obviously. I mean, in the comic book, if you just read the comic books, you know that character becomes pretty instrumental in Iron Man's life, so it's not a sidebar character. It's kind of integral to the story. "
Let your conspiracy theories run with the speed of the decision, readers -- ostensibly, they need to work as fast as possible to make that May 2010 date, but ... wow.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
12-18-2008 @ 1:00PM
Ted said...
Is there more of a story on why Howard was dropped? I was dissapointed with him being dropped as well.
Cheadle is a great actor - no doubt at all, maybe a better actor than Howard. BUT Howard is a great actor in his own right AND he was in the first film. For continuity sakes alone, I'd stick with Howard.
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12-18-2008 @ 4:01PM
Dom said...
I read that Terrence Howard was attached to the first film before RDJ or any other cast members and im not sure if this is true but that Terrence Howard ended up being the highest paid actor in the movie.
12-18-2008 @ 1:12PM
Clark Parker said...
I'll admit, my kneejerk reaction to this was not that positive. I thought that changing up a successful formula was a bad idea and that, again for continuity's sake, they should have left well enough alone.
Then... When I stepped back and was honset with myself, I remembered that I didn't really like the idea of casting Howard as Rhodey in the first place. It wasn't a bad choice or anything, he is a wicked talented actor but he just doesn't have that much in common with the character and he played it a little too soft, a little too nice. So I got to thinking, had Cheadle been cast in the first place, I bet I would have been a lot happier with it. He strikes me as being able to bring a harder edge to the character and at the same time, I get the impression that his sense of humor would jive with Downey's a lot better.
So here we are... It's obviously going to happen and apart from not being able to watch both films back to back without noticing the obvious difference in the two men, I think I'm cool with it. I didn't have any trouble with the Maggie/Katie switch... I don't have a problem with Bond being blonde... And I don't see this hindering my enjoyment either.
Also, I just so exited to hear about Hawkeye and Black Widow that I'm more then willing to let this slide.
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12-18-2008 @ 1:14PM
ultragoregrind said...
Love Cheadle - hate this decision. I thought Howard did a fine job as Rhodey and am really disappointed he won't be back.
Ah well. such is life.
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12-18-2008 @ 1:21PM
ML said...
If, in fact, the tales are true (and I'm taking them with a grain of salt), the role was pared down a bit as a result of some difficulties they found getting the performance that they wanted. Further, in writing the sequel, they found themselves minimizing the role with the prospect of continuing with Howard. If they want to do more things with Rhodey, then perhaps it is just as well that they re-cast him rather than marginalized him ... if what has been reported is true, that is. Nothing against Howard, sometimes things just don't work out the way you think they will; perhaps the director and actor just saw the role differently and couldn't get a working chemistry going. It happens.
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12-18-2008 @ 3:18PM
Herff said...
I guess the only real negative to this situation was how it was handled. I think it's really unfortunate how it played out. That said, I have to agree with Parker when I say I was not excited about Howard getting the role of Rhodes, although he did better than I thought he would. I respect Cheadle and believe he had no idea about how things went down, otherwise he may not have been as interested in taking the job. I'm really glad he signed on though, I think he will do wonders for the character. I wasn't as excited by Iron Man as a lot of other people, but it was a solid movie and I'm looking for the sequal to improve a lot on the first, similar to Batman, X-Men, Spiderman, etc. And that is something I can get excited about.
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12-18-2008 @ 3:48PM
Clark Parker said...
You know... This may sound odd or it may make perfect sense, I don't know... But to me, I get the impression that Cheadle suits the costume design that Favreau has gone with a lot better. His body shape and facial structure just strike me as more complimentary to the suits they have made. I don't want to say something as exagerated as "Howard's head is too wide" but it's along those lines... I can just visualize Cheadle in the helmet better. Not to mention in those scenes where you see his head and the HUD and nothing else.
I know, I know... Weird. But there it is.
On top of that, I'm convinced he will have better chemistry with Downey. Utterly convinced. They just seem like they would be friends.
12-18-2008 @ 3:55PM
Kevin said...
Gotta disagree with Clark. In terms of the look of the character I would say that Terrence fits it much better than Cheadle. For one thing, Cheadle isn't even 5'9", whereas Howard is a little over 6'. Considering that I'm only 5'10" I can honestly say that shorter guys don't really look like action hero's. Not that it can't be done, I don't know how tall RJD is but I doubt he's a hulking brute in person, I'm just saying that between the two I think Howard fills the look of the role better. Having said that, I much prefer Cheadle as an actor, so I was happy when they brought him on. Either way the next one should be a ton of fun.
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12-18-2008 @ 4:15PM
Clark Parker said...
That is actually part of the reason I prefer Cheadle. The bigger the man, the harder it is to make the suit look plausible. Robert Downey Jr. is also 5'9 and it works perfectly. We can easily imagine him fitting inside that suit, without it looking larger then life.
Cheadle is a similar height and weight to Downey and as such, will fit the suit in a similar way. Had he been in the original, I could have easily believed he could jump into one of Stark's suits without modification, assuming of course he had any ability to operate it. The same could not have been said of Howard.
On top of that, I feel that Cheadle could look and act more like a military man then Howard, at least to me and my opinion is only my own of course. Howard just seemed too soft, although I'll freely admit that has as much to do with his voice as it does anything else.
However, I don't think Howard was miscast. It worked for what it was, I looked forward to seeing Rhodes finally suit up and I still do... I just think that if they had to recast (which it seems they did) then Cheadle was a great choice. A better choice.
12-18-2008 @ 4:17PM
Clark Parker said...
And just look at that image of Cheadle that Elisabeth put up there... His head is exactly the same shape as Iron Man's helmet.
It's a perfect fit.
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