The controversy started mid-october when news leaked onto the web that Terrence Howard, the original James Rhodes in Iron Man, would be replaced by Don Cheadle.
Howard said the swap was a surprise, and the silence over the matter was deafening. Then Marvel officially confirmed the move and now Cheadle was not only signed for Iron Man II, but for the ensemble superhero film, The Avengers. Read the official announcement HERE. There seemed to be more to this switch than was being said.
Sure enough, we learned that Terrence was trouble on the set, and the whole fiasco may have been a set up by the "powers that be" to move Cheadle in.
Everything thus far has been spurious Internet rumor, with very little from insiders. Nothing has been said "on the record" until MTV caught up with Iron Man himself, Robert Downey Jr. Here is what they got out of him...
When asked if he had anything to do with the Howard/Cheadle switch, Downey immediately responded, “I had nothing to do with that decision. I love Terrence very very much. That’s all I’ll say because I haven’t talked to him yet.”
Furthermore, the “Iron Man” star makes it clear that he will not play favorites between the two equally talented actors, so if you’re looking for a juicy “good riddance” quote from Downey (who’s definitely not shy when it comes to speaking his mind), you won’t find it here.
“I’ve always admired Don [Cheadle],” said Downey. “It’s one of those situations where I still don’t quite know what happened or why. Here’s what happens too: things happen and you wind up commenting on them before you’ve actually talked to the people and it’s in poor taste.”
Sounds like Robert isn't going to take sides, and is interested in protecting his burgeoning franchise. He adds...
“I think the important thing with the ‘Iron Man’ franchise is to not do too much too soon and to make sure we don’t piss off the public that put us in the position we’re in,” said Downey. “We’ve just got to keep rolling up our sleeves higher and further up the elbow. If we show up and we’re in the right head space and our heart’s in the right spot and we really think about the audience at every turn and we don’t try to stamp our hipness onto anything. It’s very interactive.”