ARMOR WARS Star Don Cheadle Confirms He's No Longer Under Contract With Marvel Studios

ARMOR WARS Star Don Cheadle Confirms He's No Longer Under Contract With Marvel Studios

Don Cheadle will return as Colonel James Rhodes in Secret Invasion, but ahead of beginning work on Armor Wars, the actor confirms he's no longer under contract with Marvel Studios. Read on for details...

By JoshWilding - Sep 13, 2022 05:09 AM EST
Filed Under: Armor Wars

There was a time when Marvel Studios locked its actors into multi-picture deals that meant they would be committed to the MCU for a massive chunk of their career.

In the case of Don Cheadle, he signed a six-picture contract that meant he would play Rhodey in Iron Man 2, Iron Man 3, Avengers: Age of Ultron, Captain America: Civil War, Avengers: Infinity War, and Avengers: Endgame. Since then, he's made an Emmy-nominated cameo in The Falcon and The Winter Soldier and will next be seen in Secret Invasion

Beyond that, Cheadle also has Armor Wars, a series which is expected to put the focus primarily on War Machine. Despite that, the actor has now confirmed that he's working for Marvel Studios minus any sort of contract. 

"I'm done with my contracted years in the MCU, so now, it's just like, if something sounds fun and I'm presented with it...let's go," Cheadle reveals in the video below.

Talking at D23, the actor also made it clear Armor Wars will remain faithful to the comic book it's named after. "If you know anything about the lore, and you've read the comic books, you understand that it's a series that was built around Tony's Stark Tech getting out and Rhodey taking it on to go get this tech back from the bad hands, the bad actors whose hands it is in." 

That storyline saw a number of supervillains get their hands on Iron Man's technology, including the likes of Crimson Dynamo and Justin Hammr. The latter is someone fans are desperate to see return to the MCU, and he'd made a suitable enemy for Rhodey given their history in Iron Man 2.

Check out the full interview with Cheadle below:
 

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Fogs
Fogs - 9/13/2022, 6:06 AM
We all know what they usually want with these statements...

CorndogBurglar
CorndogBurglar - 9/13/2022, 6:14 AM
@Fogs - This does sound a little different though. This isn't like when Hemsworth said his contract was ending and he didn't know if he wanted to come back. Then they paid him more, he signed a new contract, and suddenly he's saying he'd like to be Thor forever lol.

In this case, Cheadle has already done two projects for Marvel with no contract. But I suppose This way he can negotiate more money for each individual project. It's kind of a sweet deal, actually. He doesn't have to be tied down to anything. I'm actually surprised Marvel is taking this approach with him.
KWilly
KWilly - 9/13/2022, 6:54 AM
@CorndogBurglar - They're just thankful he's not the headache the last Rhodey was
Variant
Variant - 9/15/2022, 12:03 PM
@Fogs - Not really. A lot of talent turns down money if it's a bad script or something they don't see furthering their career.
eddyxx
eddyxx - 9/13/2022, 6:14 AM
Marvel Studios has put Cheadle as Rhodey in 6 movies, 2 shows and soon his own series…meanwhile the other side can’t even bring back Henry Cavill back to make a Superman sequel. Let that sink in, folks!
CorndogBurglar
CorndogBurglar - 9/13/2022, 6:16 AM
@eddyxx - Why does it always have to turn into Marvel vs DC? Everyone gets it. DC has been a mess for a long, long time.
MeAreLegend
MeAreLegend - 9/13/2022, 7:06 AM
@eddyxx -
bkmeijer1
bkmeijer1 - 9/13/2022, 6:21 AM
Makes sense. Marvel probably hasn't mapped it out where every character is gonna appear next, so they're not making actors sign contracts for a specific amount of appearances anymore.

As for this show, I hope Hammer is gonna be an antagonist. Not necessarily the villain, but just one that (unintentionally) makes life more difficult for Rhodey. I want Sharon as the real villain
TheWalkingCuban
TheWalkingCuban - 9/13/2022, 6:30 AM
@bkmeijer1 - I’m flabbergasted. Sharon? I’m at a loss for words
IronMan616
IronMan616 - 9/13/2022, 7:35 AM
They should give Bernthal's Punisher the War Machine armor. Let Cheadle retire.
Variant
Variant - 9/15/2022, 12:06 PM
@IronMan616 - That's a bit premature. Punisher hasn't even step foot in the MCU yet.
IronMan616
IronMan616 - 9/15/2022, 1:11 PM
@Variant - How is it premature, Cheadle has been War Machine for more than 10 years now. Let someone else take the mantle. They're doing that with every character right now.
Variant
Variant - 9/27/2022, 10:22 PM
@IronMan616 - Um...because you're talking about a character that hasn't even been introduced in the MCU yet. He's got his own persona to establish first.
VictorAlonzo
VictorAlonzo - 9/13/2022, 7:58 AM



Multiverse merry-go-round mind[frick]! Just do it.
thewanderer
thewanderer - 9/13/2022, 8:02 AM
This is a bit misleading. He's doing Armor Wars. Obviously he's under contract.

He's just starting that his original longterm deal is done.
Variant
Variant - 9/15/2022, 12:07 PM
@thewanderer - You're technically correct. But the context here is that he's not obligated to do films/shows before he even knows what they are.
thewanderer
thewanderer - 9/15/2022, 12:35 PM
@Variant - right, I imagine he's not on a project by project contract.
Lokiwasright
Lokiwasright - 9/13/2022, 8:14 AM
The mcu OGs are falling...
TheRealMandarin
TheRealMandarin - 9/13/2022, 8:18 AM
Yea He's definitely going to be revealed as a skrull during Secret Invasion. Armor wars will be about the REAL Rhodey Terrence Howard 😎
99OPTIMISTPRIME
99OPTIMISTPRIME - 9/13/2022, 8:37 AM
MrDandy
MrDandy - 9/13/2022, 10:02 AM
Marvel only contracts their actors for 6 films and he’s been in 6 (Iron Man 2, Age of Ultron, Iron Man 3, Civil War, Infinity War, Endgame)

marvel72
marvel72 - 9/13/2022, 11:04 AM
Don mate,You're being replaced by Ironheart because whatever you and Tony can do, Riri can do better.
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