Armor Wars: Don Cheadle Comments on How Tony Stark's Death Changed War Machine (Exclusive)

War Machine will be in a different state of mind when Marvel fans catch up with him in the upcoming Disney+ series Armor Wars. Marvel Studios confirmed at the D23 Expo that Armor Wars is still on the way by revealing a new logo for the show and that it will pick up immediately from the events of Secret Invasion. Rhodey has shown up here and there in Phase 4 of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, including netting Don Cheadle, who plays the character, a surprising Emmy nomination for The Falcon and Winter Soldier. However, fans haven't seen his story progress since the death of James Rhodes' best friend, Tony Stark, in Avengers: Endgame. Losing Tony will affect where Rhodey's head is as Armor Wars begins.

Cheadle says Rhodey will be "At a very different place in a way that is something that I can't talk about," while speaking to Phase Zero host Brandon Davis for ComicBook.com at the D23 Expo, "but it's going to very surprising to a lot of people. And the great thing is there's just going to be so much opportunity to learn a lot about him and for him to learn about himself and for us, hopefully, to really be able to get behind what makes him tick."

Having taken over the War Machine role in the MCU Phase 1 movie Iron Man 2, Cheadle as Rhodey is now an elder statesman of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, with Tony's death being one example of the original stars passing the torch to a new generation. Cheadle tells ComicBook.com that's part of the joy of being part of the shared cinematic universe.

"I think that's what's the fun of it, how expansive it can be," he says. "We don't lose the old character, but we bring in new characters, then we get to bring the newer and older characters together and that creates its own sort of thing. So that's the most fun of being in these shows, the opportunity to cross-pollenate each other's projects and find ways that these relationships continue to work and conflicts that we continue to cook up, and I think they do a great job of it, always making it interesting, exciting, and things you can't really anticipate."

Also returning for Armor Wars is Walton Goggins, reprising his role from Ant-Man and the Wasp. Armor Wars is a six-episode Marvel Studios series. Production on Armor Wars begins in Atlanta in early 2023.