War Machine Spin-Off Movie? I Hope Not...

War Machine Spin-Off Movie? I Hope Not...

In this article I tackle the recent rumor that Marvel Studios may be looking in to doing a "War Machine" spin-off from the "Iron Man" franchise.

Editorial Opinion
By MarvelCinematicUniverse - Nov 16, 2010 06:11 PM EST
Filed Under: Iron Man


War Machine is just one of the many sidekicks in comic books that has been able to get his own title. It is to the point that War Machine has been considered by some fans of comics to be a stand alone hero in his own right.

Perhaps that is true. War Machine's alter ego Col. James "Rhodey" Rhodes certainly is a badass character. Can a movie adaption be done for the character? I believe that is a NO.

First of all, War Machine is just Iron Man with a different color armor and weapons on his back. He is just too much like Iron Man for me and many. This would make him a redundant character to get a film. Why do a War Machine film if you can just do another Iron Man film?

War Machine and Iron Man are not too different. Of course, Tony Stark and Rhodey are. Can Rhodey really work as a stand-alone character in the movies? Many would probably tell you no, and here is why:

The performance Don Cheadle put on as Rhodes in "Iron Man 2" was lackluster as far as I am concerned. I saw zero effort put into the role. I felt he was, for lack of a better word, boring. Tony Stark *ahem* Robert Downey Jr. is the star and soul of the Iron Man films. Any other character in those films are just not quite as fun to watch unfortunately, which is why I think you can't really do a spin-off.

Now would I be all for Cheadle coming back to the role and really nailing it this time? Absolutely. But in "Iron Man 3," not his own film.

A good amount of source material has been developed throughout the comics for the character, but again... how can you really make War Machine stand out from Iron Man? You really can't. Don Cheadle's Rhodey would be completely uninteresting without Tony Stark in a movie. You have to admit that.

Then again, you could throw Robert Downey Jr. in a War Machine movie for a cameo role. Then it makes you wonder what the whole point of a War Machine film really would be if you have the real star appearing.

What is most important to me in this situation, is that Marvel Studios has so many characters to work on for the big screen and now with the Marvel Cinematic Universe there are so many possibilities. A War Machine movie would not really add anything to it! Let's not see Doctor Strange, Luke Cage, or The Punisher, Let's see War Machine!!! :D

REALLY?
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marvelguy
marvelguy - 11/16/2010, 7:16 PM
I understand your point. What they would need to do is make sure his identity was public, attach what it means to be a black superhero while mixing in the military weapon vs. hero issues. Of course, you put him on the opposite coast or overseas, add a love interest, and never cameo Stark. Agreeing with you, if you put RDJ in there, it becomes an Iron Man movie.
There are a lot worse characters they could put on screen in his place: Brother Voodoo, Shamrock, Armadillo, D-Man, Battle Star, Capt. Britain...need I go on.
Sturmpionier
Sturmpionier - 11/17/2010, 7:06 AM
I agree with everything you said. I think, though, that Marvel's plans for 'War-Machine' are only a backup in case 'Dr. Strange' or maybe 'Luke Cage' fall through. Those films really should be made first as they make sense for all the reasons you say War-Machine doesn't. However, if they don't, and films fail to get made all the time for whatever reason, Marvel needs to have a backup plan.
TheDarqueOne
TheDarqueOne - 11/17/2010, 4:00 PM
Nice job but I disagree.

It was hard not to see Howard in the part because I had imagined how good he was going to be ever since 'Next time baby'. I think Cheadle did pretty well considering those kinds of expectations. He is after all quite a different sort of actor. Both are equally talented but very different in approach.

As long as it fit properly into the Avengers continuity I would love to see a War Machine movie.

TheDarqueOne
TheDarqueOne - 11/18/2010, 2:48 AM
I do not feel the need to plan out the sequence of films for Marvel. It is a matter of resources and when people are available. What I would prefer is that they use the same Actors along the way. If they are going to do War Machine I would rather it be sooner as opposed to later. People do age and I would like to see what Don would do with a whole film.

MONTEZ
MONTEZ - 11/18/2010, 10:20 AM
i am a huge war machine fan and cheadle fan but rhodey can not carry a whole film by himself. i agree with a lot of fellow marvel zombies, lets get a dr strange, luke cage, and iron fist movie before we even think about a war machine film.
TheDarqueOne
TheDarqueOne - 11/18/2010, 1:54 PM
Why would he have to do it alone? The whole point of the MU is that it is shared.

The better question is what new Heros could be added to make it an amazing movie.
vakama15
vakama15 - 12/10/2010, 10:41 AM
~If they are gona make a War Machine movie, all I want of it, is it based on Cyborg Rhodey/War Machine played by Don Ce and actually focus on that character and not Iron Man~
Yorel
Yorel - 1/9/2011, 6:35 PM
I see no reason why a War Machine spin-off couldn't be totaly amazing.

I mean, if you just made a Iron Man film, inwhich you replaced Iron Man with War Machine, then yes it would suck balls. Alot of Balls.

BUT, if you go into it relising that War Machine is a completely diffrent charracter, with a diffrent personality and motivations then you're on the right track.

Think about it. At the end of IM2, Fury pretty much tells Stark that "Yes, we'd (SHIELD) love to have Iron Man on the Avangers, but we don't want you."
Now we all know that'll change by the time Avangers rolls around, but in the mean time would it be so hard to imagin SHIELD getting Rhodey, an Air Force Lt.Col who owns/controls/operates a version of the Iron Man suit that is loaded with weapons, to go off and take down some terroist group. A War Machine movie could be used to set up A.I.M or even a modern Hydra. It would be more Action orintated then comedic.

As for Don Cheadle preformance being "lackluster" and "zero effort", thats rubbish. One of the first diffrence I noticed between how Howard's and Cheadle's Rhodey, was that Howard's was pritty much a little bitch. Look at the scene where Tony gets him drunk on the plane, or when Tony trashs the 2 jets. Compare that to IM2 when he takes the MkII, or when Hammer is showing him all those weapons and he just gives him the Hard-assed military stare, or even when he tells Tony he's keeping the War Machine suit.
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