A scene in Iron Man teased the possibility of Tony Stark's right-hand man Jim Rhodes some day donning a suit of armor of his own to become War Machine. The role was played by Terrence Howard, who, thanks to Marvel Studios' success, looked to have a long franchise ahead of him, as well as possibly a spin-off movie of his own. That's all changed, according to The Hollywood Reporter, which is reporting that Howard is out of the sequel. Don't worry, though -- Jim "Rhodey" Rhodes will still be there. It's just that he'll be played by Don Cheadle, instead.

Tags: comic books, Don Cheadle, Iron Man, James Rhodes, Marvel Studios, superhero movies, Terrence Howard, War Machine

From the perspective of someone who works in an industry where most of the professionals couldn't tell you where their next job is coming from, most people in Hollywood are probably sitting around the dinner table tonight discussing how Robert Downey Jr. is like, totally set for life. The Iron Man actor has signed on to play Tony Stark in three more films. With Iron Man being, well, let's face it, the second-biggest movie of the summer, Marvel Studios nevertheless has about five hundred and seventy eight million ($!) reasons to get him back for a sequel. And while reports aren't out yet as to just how much of that juicy box-office gross they used to lure RDJ back, they got him, and not just for one sequel, but two. Oh, and also what could technically be called a spinoff.

Tags: Avengers, Captain America, comic books, Don Cheadle, Iron Man, Iron Man 2, Iron Man 3, James Rhodes, Jon Favreau, Robert Downey Jr., superhero movies, The Avengers, Thor, War Machine