‘Avengers: Infinity War’ Has A Lot Of People Wondering About Terrence Howard

It’s easy to forget that Don Cheadle wasn’t always War Machine, and Infinity War has many people bringing up a name from the original Iron Man.

That would actor Terrence Howard, who originally played Tony Stark’s best friend James Rhodes in the first Iron Man. That film even teased Rhodes getting a suit of his own in the sequel, but when that finally happened in Iron Man 2 the role was no longer Howard’s, it was Don Cheadle’s. Now fans have gotten used to that, but Infinity War has plenty of fans theorizing what could’ve been if he stayed on.

@slfricky says “The only thing I want out of an Avengers 4 time travel story is a Terrence Howard cameo for the s*** and giggles.”

@Masonator38 has an idea for an amazing cameo sequence that nods to all the actors who have given up their roles.

“Out walks Quicksilver (Aaron Taylor-Johnson), War Machine (Terrence Howard), Bruce Banner (Edward Norton), Spider-Man (Toby Maguire) and Ghost Rider (Nicholas Cage). These.
Are.
Our.
Heroes.

The Forgotten Avengers

@JamesGunn”

That’s not a bad idea, but @HangTheTG has a perfect way to implement it,

“I hope if they do #SecretInvasion as #Avengers 4 they don’t miss out on the opportunity to have Terrence Howard and Ed Norton play the Skrull versions of Rhodes and Banner. #marvel #mcu”

Other fans wonder if Howard ever regrets how that worked out, missing out on all the movies that came afterward. He would have appeared in Iron Man 2, Iron Man 3, Captain America: Civil War, Avengers: Infinity War, and presumably Avengers 4.

@MightyMass says “I wonder if Terrance Howard regrets not having the economic boost that comes with being in Avengers movies or if he’s enjoying the freedom from multi-film contracts and such.”

@ChiDreaming says “I know Terrance Howard is kicking him selfEverytime he seea avenger commercial”.

You can see more reactions here.

The original story goes that after a successful debut in Iron Man Howard went to renegotiate his contract with Marvel Studios. Howard previously said that he didn’t get much support in that endeavor, including from Robert Downey Jr., and ultimately Marvel Studios let him go and brought in Don Cheadle to replace him in the part.

Since then Howard and Downey Jr. have made amends, putting all that drama behind them. Still, it is an interesting case of what could’ve been.

Fans can see Avengers: Infinity War when it hits theaters on Thursday.