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Marvel Studios gave Don Cheadle just two hours to decide whether to sign a six-picture deal.
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Cheadle was at his “kids laser tag birthday party” when the offer came in.
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The star replaced Terrence Howard as Lt. James Rhodes/War Machine in “Iron Man 2.”
“Iron Man” kicked off the Marvel Cinematic Universe way back in 2008, and it starred Terrence Howard as Tony Stark’s (Robert Downey Jr.) best friend and confidant, Lieutenant James Rhodes. But when Marvel Studios only offered the actor $1 million to return for the sequel, Howard chose not to return, later claiming Downey Jr.
Fortunately, Marvel found a solid replacement for the star: Don Cheadle. The ‘Ocean’s Eleven’ and ‘Hotel Rwanda’ actor played Rhodey (aka War Machine) in seven movies and also appeared in two Disney+ shows: ‘The Falcon and the Winter Soldier’ and ‘What If. ..?’
But speaking to GQ about his career, Cheadle explained that the studio gave him just two hours to agree to a six-picture deal ahead of “Iron Man 2.”
The actor recalled being at a birthday party for one of his children when the call came in.
Cheadle said: “I was at my kid’s laser tag birthday party. They called me and said, ‘Here’s what happens and we’ll make you the offer. If you don’t say yes, we’ll move on to the next person. This is going to be very happen quickly. Why don’t you take an hour and decide if you want to do it.'”
The actor explained that he hadn’t been told much about the projects he would be starring in, apart from a few “Avengers” movies.
He said, “‘It’s going to be these Avengers and this is what it is, so you have to say yes or no.'”
The studio also didn’t tell him what to expect from War Machine’s arc in the MCU, saying “‘We don’t know about that, but this is what it is, so you’ve got an hour.'”
Cheadle said he discussed the offer with his wife as they played laser tag, as well as his agent, before accepting the offer.
“So we played laser tag for two hours and I talked to my wife and we thought about it and talked to my agent and tried to get as much information as possible.”
While Rhodey is a full-fledged Avenger, he has always been Iron Man’s sidekick, but he will soon be directing his own movie “Armor Wars”.
The star also teased what to expect from the 2024 film, saying: “In each subsequent film, he’s coming out of Tony’s shadow more and more and becoming his own person. But we still haven’t explored who he is and really got us there. engrossed in. not yet. That’s what the film is for.”
Read the original article on Insider
