As far as the Avengers go, Don Cheadle’s War Machine will never let anyone down. He’s dependable and damn pleased to get the job done (other than stopping Thanos in Infinity War, which, to be fair to everyone, is only Star-Lord’s fault), but he’s not a flashy, attention-grabbing type. Marvel Studios actually (according to Black Panther screenwriter Joe Robert Cole in a 2018 Complex interview) planned to make him their first black superhero with a standalone film. Instead, Disney and Marvel Studios pushed forward with Iron Man 3 while keeping James Rhodey (initially played by Terrence Howard but taken up by Cheadle in Iron Man 2) as part of the ensemble that popped up in various other movies. With Avengers: Endgame about to land, word of the abandoned solo project is popping up anew, including followup details from Cheadle.
The Black Monday actor fielded questions in an Entertainment Weekly interview and basically stated that Marvel and Disney “kicked it around a little bit.” When MCU direct tweeted a link about the story, a fan sent back a reply that read, “I don’t really care about War Machine.” Well, Don Cheadle was included in that Twitter thread, and he had a reply (that was noticed on Reddit) as well.
Fair enough! That’s a lesson for everyone to double-check where a reply is being sent on Twitter. (Kinda awkward, but an apology was duly issued.)
While speaking to EW, Cheadle also stressed that working with such a wonderful ensemble cast — chock full of larger-than-life presences — was “gratifying” because none of the Avengers actors bring their egos to work. “Everybody feels like we’re the little fish and that the project is the big fish,” he insisted. Perhaps that’s precisely why Cheadle felt comfy dropping that dismissal on Twitter. Perspective really is everything, and it’s again time to stop Thanos … for real this time.
Avengers: Endgame arrives on April 26.