Don Cheadle took over the role of Col. James ‘Rhodey’ Rhodes in the 2010 film Iron Man 2. In the same movie, he got to wear the War Machine suit. Though it was a limited appearance, Don Cheadle became a franchise regular. He went on to play the character in three Avengers movies, as well as Iron Man 3 and Captain America: Civil War. After more than a decade of essaying the role, Don Cheadle will lead his film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

Earlier announced as a Disney+ series, Armor Wars will be released as a feature film project sometime around Phase Five or Phase Six of the shared continuity. But this journey’s stepping stones were laid just in two hours. Talking to Entertainment Weekly, while talking about Armor Wars and Secret Invasion, Don Cheadle also revealed how he landed the role in the first place.

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Cheadle said he got the call at his daughter’s birthday party when asked to decide on short notice. He said,

     Marvel Studios

When Don Cheadle was approached for the role, the MCU had plans for the franchise’s future. Hence, Cheadle was offered a multi-picture deal from Marvel Studios. Cheadle also revealed that he had several questions in mind before signing up for the role, and, funnily enough, the studio didn’t answer any of them. He added,

[They said], ‘we need an answer in an hour.’ And I said, ‘I’m at my daughter’s birthday party laser tag game.’ And they said, ‘Oh take two hours.’ And I said, ‘I’m at my daughter’s birthday party laser tag game.’ And they said, ‘Oh take two hours.’

Cheadle took over the role from Terrence Howard, who played the character in the first Iron Man film. Howard was the first actor confirmed for that film after an extensive casting process. However, he dropped out of Iron Man 2, leaving Marvel to recast the role. This could be why Marvel Studios made Cheadle commit for a long time now that the franchise’s future was on a set course. Cheadle eventually agreed and has never looked back.

I think it was a six-picture deal at the time. And I was trying to figure out how long that was. I said, ‘What are these? What are the movies? What are they gonna be like? How’s the character going to develop?’ They were like, ‘We’re not sure about any of those answers but we need an answer in an hour.

Don Cheadle’s six-picture deal with Marvel Studios ended with Avengers: Endgame. His contract renewed post that film, after which he made an appearance in The Flacon and The Winter Soldier (for which he received an Emmy Award nomination) and will reprise the role in Secret Invasion. Armor Wars will be Cheadle’s ninth appearance in the MCU and first as a central character.

Armor Wars don’t have a release date yet. Writer Yassir Lester is penning the script, which will follow the events of Secret Invasion.