Terrence Howard played James "Rhodey" Rhodes in 2008's Iron Man, but didn't return for the 2010 sequel due to a dispute over pay. That came as a surprise because Howard was, in many ways, a bigger star than Downey when the movie was released.
However, Marvel Entertainment CEO Ike Perlmutter wasn't willing to give him a payrise, allegedly believing no one would notice due to Howard's race.
Don Cheadle was enlisted to replace him and got to do what his predecessor never could: suit up as War Machine. Since then, he's reprised the role in movies like Iron Man 3, Avengers: Age of Ultron, and Captain America: Civil War, later suiting up again for Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame ahead of cameos in The Falcon and The Winter Soldier and Secret Invasion.
As for Howard, while he'd go on to find success in Fox's hit music drama Empire, the actor has since said he's been "blacklisted" in Hollywood after filing a lawsuit against the Disney-owned studio in 2020 to reclaim money he was owed for the series.
In a new interview, the actor briefly reflected on his brief spell in the MCU and shared a new theory about why he was dropped from the franchise (previously, he pointed the finger at Robert Downey Jr., saying he "took the money that was supposed to go to me and pushed me out").
In the video below, Howard recalls being asked at the 2007 Venice Film Festival why he didn't have equal billing with Jodie Foster on their movie, The Brave One. That made its way back to veteran producer Joel Silver, who then confronted the actor.
"Joel Silver came and had a conversation with me, and he's like, 'The reason your name isn't above the titles is because you're not the star of this thing — it's Jodie. And if you get nominated for an Oscar, it's going to be for Supporting Actor, not Best Actor,'" Howard claimed.
"And I was like, 'Thank you for telling me that, now I understand. But, you have to remember that I'm a man just like you, and if you ever talk to me in that way again, I'm going to knock your teeth out of your mouth.'"
What has this got to do with Iron Man? Well, Silver's producing partner on The Brave One was Susan Downey, the wife of Robert Downey Jr., Howard's Iron Man co-star. "Eight months later, I lose Iron Man," he recalled. "And I'm sure that all of those things played their part."
For what it's worth, Howard went on to acknowledge that his "aggression" and "need to be a man" have been detrimental to his career. A conversation with screen icon Denzel Washington, however, may have changed things.
"He told me, 'Look at your hands, your fists are all balled up. All of these producers are trying to open your hand so they can put money in it, but you won't do it; you keep your hands all tight. And you're blowing it.'"