A lot of people complain about the replacement. I for one loved how they did it. His first lines were "It's me, I'm here, move on." Like he would say it to the audience. Brilliant. And btw he is good in the role.
shareTo me, Cheadle is a huge miscast. I don't remember why they replaced Terrence Howard with him, but it was a bad idea. Cheadle isn't a bad actor by a long shot, but a tiny ugly guy like him isn't suited to such a role. Plus, as someone else already noted, him and RDJ don't have any chemistry - that's one of the reason why the buddy-movie vibe didn't work at all in IM3.
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- Booker, are you afraid of God ?
- No. But I'm afraid of you.
It had something to do with money and contract issues with Terrence Howard.
If it's all the same to you, I'll have that drink now.-Loki (Marvel's Avengers)
http://officialfan.proboards.com/thread/595941/successful-main-character-recasts?page=1
When Marvel first got the movie rights for Iron Man back from, I think, Universal, Marvel had absolutely no background in making their own movies and weren't really attracting any A-level names to the project. Finally they came across Terrence Howard who was interested, and they gave him a big money deal to play Rhodey, probably more then he was actually worth, with the hopes that Howard's name attached to the project would bring in other top names. That didn't really work out.
Eventually Jon Favreau and Robert Downey Jr. agreed to do the movie, completely independent of Howard, simply because they were fans of the character. They wound up getting paid much less than Howard, and even when other big names like Bridges and Paltrow jumped on, Howard was still easily the highest paid actor in the first movie. The movie was a success and Marvel made plans for a sequel, but insisted on cutting Terrance Howard's pay. Now to Howard, he had just starred in a wildly successful movie that just made a gajillion dollars, he was being asked to return for a sequel with his part being significantly expanded, and was told he needed to take a pay cut to do it. To him, and probably most actors with any name value, this would sound ridiculous, so he walked, and the part was recast with Don Cheadle.
Also remember at the time Marvel Films was under the direct control of the notoriously stingy Marvel CEO Ike Perlmutter, so that probably added to the issue. If I remember correct they very nearly lost Samuel L. Jackson for similar reasons.
The filmmakers apparently had reason to believe that they did not need to pay Terrance Howard the compensation increase he was holding out for. The box office results of IM2 and IM3 indicate they were probably correct.
It's one thing to predict that the role-playing and chemistry will be compromised, in some purist sense. It's another thing to assume that that expectation about that facet of the franchise, will lead to fans not going to see the movies.
Regarding Don Cheadle not being super-hero enough:
There is supposed to be a mystique about a slightly built, nerdy type, like Tony, putting on the suit and being transformed.
Terrance Howard struck me as big, strong, fast and athletic. I could picture him one-punching every other person who appeared on screen in IM1, without exception. So something is actually lost if TH is War Machine, the sense of transformation.
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The story is king.
I love Don as James. I think they have much better chemistry than Terrance and Robert, and Don is so much more likeable.
shareAgreed.
Cheadle's Rhodey is probably my favorite MCU character after Cap and Stark/Iron Man.
Originality needs a reboot.
I much prefer Cheadle to Howard. And I refute the statement that Cheadle and Downey had no chemistry. They had plenty of it and more. I loved their scenes in AOU and am looking forward to seeing CACW on Thursday, though I'm #TeamCap
Sometimes my ruminations are too confusing for someone not inside my head. -Anon
Cheadle and Downy have better chemistry than Howard and Downy. They actually seem like they would be friends in real life. I still wish they would've keep Howard though even though Cheadle is a better fit because of continuity issues.
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I don't think Howard is a great actor, and he comes across as smug and unlikable in most if his roles. Don was a huge upgrade, particularly moving forward in the larger ensemble movies.
shareTerrance Howard was much better in the role than cheadle, but I heard everyone hated him on set and that’s why he didn’t come back.
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