In 2008, before the MCU was well-known, Terrence Howard was one of the first actors to be chosen for the live-action version of Marvel’s Iron Man.
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The Marvel Cinematic Universe has successfully launched thanks to the superhero action, which also established the tone and formula for numerous other MCU projects.
Robert Downey Jr.’s emergence as the international star he is today was made possible by Iron Man. Unfortunately, Don Cheadle had to take Terrence Howard’s position as Tony Stark’s pal James Rhodes in the sequel since Howard, who was the highest-paid actor in Iron Man, declined to repeat his role. The alleged wage reduction served as Howard’s reason for termination.
Due to a pay dispute, Terrence Howard left Iron Man 2
A lot of people were surprised by Terrence’s disappearance, especially considering that his unfortunate remark, “Next time, sweetie,” unintentionally hinted at his War Machine outfit. He was fired from Iron Man 2 because of a compensation dispute with the directors.
Howard was allegedly asked to work for less than the previously agreed-upon contractual amount because of the success of Iron Man.
Several publications asserted that Terrence’s replacement as War Machine was caused by work in addition to the wage dispute. Insiders claim that Jon Favreau and Howard had conflicts because Howard was a difficult performer to work with.
However, none of the parties ever provided any evidence to support such assertions, and the problem of the pay cut persisted.
Sources claim that the argument started when producers approached Howard to suggest a pay cut because Justin Theroux and director Favreau were discussing lessening the actor’s role.
According to reports, Terrence Howard walked away from the project because of a pay cut that ranged from 50% to 80%. Surprisingly, the argument led to a fight between Rober Downey Jr. and Howard, with the latter blaming the former of failing to defend him.
During his appearance on Watch What Happens Live With Andy Cohen, Terrence was asked about the situation and responded as follows:
It turns out that the person I helped become Iron Man pocketed the compensation intended for me and kicked me out of the running when it came time to reapply for the second one.
Terrence Howard clarified when Andy Cohen probed him further, inquiring as to if the issue stemmed from his desire for equal pay to that of Downey:
“We came to a three-picture deal. That suggests that you made advance plans. A specific amount was supposed to be paid for the first, a specific amount for the second, and a specific amount for the third. Since they believed the second one would succeed with or without them, they came to me about it and offered to pay me one-eighth of what was specified in our contract. Additionally, it took three months for my friend who assisted me in getting my first job to return my call when I made it.
Regarding his connection with RDJ, Terrence Howard joked with the Prisoners actor:
Oh, how I love this man. God will pay him back.
Even Terrence Howard admitted in a Rolling Stone interview that he had called Downey 17 times in vain. However, Robert Downy Jr. refused to elaborate in 2008 and insisted that he had no part in the decision to cut Howard from the movie.
Up until his in-universe demise at the climax of the Infinity Saga in Avengers: Endgame, Downey’s Tony Stark/Iron Man persona served as the franchise’s main character. Contrarily, Don Cheadle has been portraying War Machine since 2010 and is probably going to do so again in upcoming films like Secret Invasion and Armor Wars.
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