Being replaced by Don Cheadle in 'Iron Man 2', Terrence Howard, the actor who plays James 'Rhodey' Rhodes in 'Iron Man', shares more on his side of the story while expresses his disappointment.
- Apr 6, 2009
AceShowbiz - While Marvel's surprising decision to replace Terrence Howard with Don Cheadle in "Iron Man 2" was an old story, several questions are still circulating around the sudden recasting and now Howard offers some enlightenments on the matter. Talking to a group of reporters Saturday, April 4, in Beverly Hills during "Fighting" promotion, he discussed about Marvel's decision.
"Iron Man happened with that. Marvel happened with it," he responded when asked what happened behind the recasting, as quoted by Sci Fi Wire. "They made a choice. They made a very, very bad choice. They didn't keep their word. They didn't honor our contract. They sent everyone out into a field and told them to work and produce a great bounty. You produce a great bounty, and then when it's all in the storehouse, you are not allowed into the storehouse."
Pursued whether the decision has anything to do with salary negotiation, he said, "They did the same thing with Gwyneth [Paltrow], from what I've been told." He added, "They did it with almost everyone, I think, except Downey throughout the thing. One of the things that actors need to learn to do is take a tip from Friends [whose cast members all held out for higher pay]. You always choose to stick together. One for all and all for one. Our Gang, you know? Let Spanky be our rule."
Though clearly bumped over the recasting, Howard insisted that he wouldn't miss the sequel. "Yeah, I'm definitely looking forward to it. I want to see what happens with that. I want to see Don Cheadle become me. I want him to do better than me. That's what I really want to see. I think he can," so he claimed.
Of his replacer, he has nothing but praise. He stated, "Don Cheadle is the reason I got on Crash. He was one of the producers on Crash, and he called and got me in there. So it's like Don is good by me, anything he does. He's given me the greatest gift I could ever imagine having. Don gave me that, so anything I have, I'll share with him."
"Iron Man 2" will be once again directed by Jon Favreau with Robert Downey Jr. reprising his role as the superhero in armored iron suit. It is scripted by "Tropic Thunder" co-scribbler Justin Theroux and has Gwyneth Paltrow, Mickey Rourke and Scarlett Johansson among the cast ensemble. Scheduled to be released in U.S. theaters on May 7, 2010, it starts shooting April 6.
