http://www.cinematical.com/2008/10/20/terrence-howard-doesnt-know-why-iron-man-dumped-him/


Terrence Howard Doesn't Know Why Iron Man Dumped Him
by Elisabeth Rappe Oct 20th 2008 // 9:30AM

Filed under: Action, Casting, RumorMonger, Celebrities and Controversy, Comic/Superhero/Geek, Remakes and Sequels

If there was one story last week that prompted geekdom to wail aloud and gnash their teeth, it was the news that Terrence Howard wouldn't be returning as Rhodes in Iron Man 2. The role (and future War Machine suit) will go to Don Cheadle. It isn't that Cheadle won't do a fine job, but Howard was the perfect Rhodey. And that great little "Next time!" scene? It loses a bit of fun when a different person pops up next time.

We all blamed Howard for the split, particularly because the trades implied he wanted too much money to return. But we're in for another round of "Who do you believe?" because Howard told NPR that he knows nothing about any contract negotiations. In fact, he learned the ugly truth of his departure at the same time and place as the rest of us -- the trades. "It was the surprise of a lifetime. There was no explanation. just ... up and vanished. I read something in the trades implicating that it was about money or something, but apparently the contracts that we write and sign aren't worth the paper that they're printed on, sometimes. Promises aren't kept, and good faith negotiations aren't always held up."

Now, this could be all damage control on Howard's part (and you can listen to the entire interview to judge for yourself), but it's a startling state of affairs nonetheless. And who likes the implication that no one bothered to tell Howard "You're fired!" That's just not cool. I don't like all this drama surrounding Iron Man 2 -- first, Favreau was on the outs, now it's Howard. If I wake up tomorrow and find out Robert Downey Jr. has been replaced with Clive Owen (which, like Cheadle, would be a choice of equal caliber but just not the same), I'll know there's no hope for Hollywood.