Former Iron Man star Terrence Howard has revealed how he felt betrayed by Robert Downey Jr. after his role was recast. The actor, 55, played Tony Stark’s friend James ‘Rhodey’ Rhodes in 2008’s Iron Man – the first film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
However, the role was recast, and Howard did not return for the film’s 2010 sequel , with Marvel claiming that the actor had been difficult to work with. Going forward, Rhodes was played by Don Cheadle, appearing in sequels and spin-offs Captain America: Civil War, Avengers : Infinity War, Endgame and the TV series Secret Invasion . Speaking to Joe Rogan on his podcast , The Joe Rogan Experience, Howard revealed how his being dropped from the MCU affected his friendship with star Robert Downey Jr, 59.
‘We did a three picture deal with Marvel,’ the actor revealed. ‘A three picture deal. $4.
5 million to $5 million for the first one, $7.5-8 for the second one, $12 million for the third. We signed it.
’ He claims that Marvel called his agent and told him they wanted him back for the sequel – but with reduced pay, allegedly saying: ‘We want Terrence but we want him to come back for a million dollars instead of the eight million that we had agreed to.’ Howard went on to reveal that his agent had an ‘an emotional reaction to a business decision,’ and swore at the Marvel representative, hanging up the phone. He says that the studio then invented stories of his set behaviour.
‘Instead they had to spin, “.