Terrence Howard Felt Betrayed By Robert Downey Jr. After Being Replaced in the MCU
In the history of the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), there has perhaps not been a more significant recasting than that of James “Rhodey” Rhodes after the first Iron Man movie.
Longtime MCU fans will recall that the role of Iron Man’s best friend was initially filled by Terrence Howard. By the time Iron Man 2 rolled around, however, the character was played by Don Cheadle.
Photo: Distracfly
While it has long been reported that Howard left the franchise over a salary dispute, during a recent interview on the Joe Rogan Experience, Howard dove into the details of his departure and painted a particularly unflattering picture of Robert Downey Jr.
Howard Says He Helped Downey Jr. Get ‘Iron Man’
Taking things back to the beginning, Howard asserted that after being cast in Iron Man, he heard that Robert Downey Jr. was dying to play the titular role.
Photographer: Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty Images
Howard, who is a self-proclaimed fan of Downey’s work, says that he called Iron Man producer Avi Arad and offered to take less money if they would let Downey Jr. audition for the film.
“I love Robert. I love what he does. I loved him in ‘Weird Science.’ Well, if Robert wants to come in… So I called Avi Arad immediately. He was the producer on it, and I’m like, ‘Avi, I hear Robert wants to come in, but you guys don’t even let him audition,'” Howard explained.
Photo:pagesix.com
“He’s like, ‘No, we can’t bond him.’ I’m like, ‘Instead of the 4 and a half you want to give me, why don’t you take a million dollars for the bond for him and let him audition.’ So he gets the part. Robert is like, ‘I love you. Thank you so much.’”
Marvel Backed Out of Its Deal?
Following the success of Iron Man, Robert Downey Jr. once again found himself on top. The same was not true for Howard. According to the actor, because of problems in his personal life, Marvel backed out of the three-picture deal they had signed. In order to return for Iron Man 2, Howard says he would have had to take a significant pay cut.
Photo: Marvel
“They said, ‘We want Terrence, but we want him to come back for a million dollars instead of the 8 million that we had agreed to. My agent had an emotional reaction to a business decision and he said, ‘F-you,’ and hung up the phone,” he continued.
Photo: celebrity insider
“Immediately, they go to Don Cheadle. But instead of just doing that they had to spend, ‘Oh, he was terrible on set,’ and all of these things and went through all this stuff.”
Downey Ignored Howard’s Pleas For Help
In his time of need, Howard turned to Downey Jr., hoping that the actor would repay the favor that Howard had afforded him before Iron Man took off.
According to Howard, Downey Jr. blew him off.
Photo: Reuters
“When this other thing happened, I’m calling Robert and he’s doing ‘Sherlock Homes.’ I called him 27 times and I leave a message. I’m calling his assistant. I’m like, ‘I need the help I gave you,'” Howard continued.
“I didn’t hear from him until 3 years later when I bumped into him at Brian Grazer’s wedding. But at that time I’d had ‘Empire’ or whatever, and I came back he was like, ‘Oh but everything worked out for you.’ That broke me a little bit.”
Will Downey Jr. Respond?
While Marvel and Robert Downey Jr. likely have their own version of the events that occurred, Howard’s story does not paint the latter in a good light.
Photo: Marvel
Perhaps, one day, we will know exactly what happened.
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