Terrence Howard is a talented actor who has appeared in such films as Ray, Crash, Four Brothers, and Hustle & Flow, for which he received both Golden Globe and Academy Award nominations. His star remains on the rise after playing an important part in this summer’s blockbuster Iron Man.
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So, you would think that he would be respected enough by the powers that be to get his pink slip in person, right? Wrong. Howard found out that his character James “Rhodey” Rhodes would be in the planned Iron Man sequel. Unfortunately, he read in the papers just like we did that the character would be played by another Academy Award nominee – Don Cheadle, one of Howard’s co-stars in Crash.
Howard was on NPR this week to promote his debut album titled “Shine Through It.” I am guessing that when he made the album he had no idea he would have to use the title to help him get over this shun. Of the news, Howard said, “It was the surprise of a lifetime. There was no explanation, [it] just up and vanished. And I read something in the trades that implicated it was about money… but apparently the contracts that we write and sign aren’t worth the paper that they’re printed on sometimes. And promises aren’t kept, and good faith negotiations aren’t always held up.”
What does Marvel Studios, who produced the Iron Man movie, have to say about the replacement? Right now they are staying mum, but The Hollywood Reporter is saying that Marvel and Howard could not come to agreement over a salary. Howard says that is not true. He seems to be taking it all well, saying that when he was picked on as a kid, he didn’t hit back and he still doesn’t.
Whatever the reason, it is disappointing to many fans who believed Rhodes would get his own armor suit in the sequel. Maybe he will, but it will be Don Cheadle’s face on the character and not Terrence Howard.
This kind of reminds me when Wesley Snipes was replaced by the closely resembling Omar Epps as the character of Willie Mays Hayes in Major League. The good news is we will see Robert Downey, Jr. back as Tony Stark aka Iron Man. The sequel is scheduled to appear in theaters on May 7, 2010.