It came as a surprise announced last week that Terrence Howard was being replaced in the role of James "Rhodey" Rhodes in "Iron Man 2" by Don Cheadle. Naturally, everyone thought it was because Howard has priced himself out of the job but Howard says it isn't so.
Hee is as bewildered as everyone else as to why he lost the plumb role. "It was the surprise of a lifetime. There was no explanation, [it] just up and vanished," he says.
"And I read something in the trades that implicated it was about money... but apparently the contracts that we write and sign aren't worth the paper that they're printed on sometimes. And promises aren't kept, and good faith negotiations aren't always held up."
The Hollywood Reporter reported that sources said negotiations with the actor "fell through over financial differences."
Since (in the comic books anyway) the role of Rhodey grows much larger, you'd have to expect that future Ironman movies will be huge for Cheadle - both as a career move and for his bank account.
It sucks for Howard, but somehow, he just didn't play this one right.
