We're closing in on five years since Armor Wars was first announced as a Disney+ TV series. Yassir Lester was tapped as Head Writer in August 2021 but countless delays followed until, in September 2022, we learned it was being redeveloped as a movie.
Since then, the project has seemingly fallen by the wayside, despite Spider-Man: No Way Home and Secret Invasion laying at least some of the groundwork for this continuation of War Machine's story.
Today, we have an update from insider Daniel Richtman. He claims that Armor Wars is on hold, not cancelled; apparently, Marvel Studios is reworking the project following the Secret Invasion backlash, meaning Rhodey's story won't continue until after Avengers: Secret Wars.
Richtman also notes, "[Armor Wars is] also expected to focus on entirely different things than originally planned."
So, yeah, we'd bet on Marvel Studios dropping the idea of War Machine having been a Skrull since the events of Captain America: Civil War. Fortunately, the way his return was handled when he was discovered in the Skrull base left enough ambiguity for Marvel Studios to easily move on from the idea.
While War Machine is a popular character, there doesn't appear to be that much demand for this movie. Yes, characters like Ironheart and Justin Hammer could be added to the mix, but if the massive success of the Iron Man trilogy tells you anything, it's that filmgoers want Tony Stark.
In a post-Secret Wars MCU, there's a chance we'll see Marvel Studios cast a new Iron Man, potentially making Armor Wars a far more exciting prospect.
When Don Cheadle asked where things stand with Armor Wars last October, he replied, "You can find out and let me know. [Laughs] I don’t know, I’m not sure where anything is right now. I think things are going through a lot of changes, and we’ll see what happens, we’ll see what it is."
Cheadle also addressed that big Skrull twist and seemed none too impressed. "Uh... you know, there was no... it wasn’t a demand. It was a request," the actor explained. "What do you think about playing this?' And it was to set up stuff in' the following thing. So, if the following thing happens, and all those things were set up, then that’s one thing. If, as you said, it doesn’t, then we can talk about how I feel about it after!"
Armor Wars doesn't have a release date and, as noted, likely won't happen until after Avengers: Secret Wars...if indeed it happens at all. Click here to see the armoured heroes and villains we'd like to see in the project.