The wait is finally over: MCU’s first sidekick is at long last getting their own movie

When multiple Marvel announcements were made at various conventions over the summer, one notably absent title was Armor Wars, which last we heard was a Disney Plus show that was supposedly starring Don Cheadle as James Rhodes AKA War Machine. The project is still in the works, it turns out, but it’s been upgraded from a TV show to a full-blown movie headed for theaters.

Yassir Lester, who was previously attached as the head writer for the Armor Wars show, will remain attached to the project as the scriptwriter for the feature film, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

Higher-ups at Marvel Studios were apparently so committed to telling the story within Armor Wars right that they came to the realization it was a narrative better suited — pun intended — for a movie, according to the article.

The Oscar-winning Cheadle has been synonymous with the War Machine character ever since 2010’s Iron Man 2 and he has been a steady presence in the Marvel Cinematic Universe ever since. But like Mark Ruffalo taking over the role of Bruce Banner, AKA Hulk, from Edward Norton, Cheadle was not the first actor to play the part of James Rhodes.

Back in 2008, Rhodey was portrayed by Terrence Howard in the very first entry in the MCU, Iron Man. Though the character had not yet donned one of the mech suits that turned him into the hero known as War Machine in later films, Howard’s Rhodey still eyed one of the suits created by Robert Downey Jr.’s Tony Stark and ironically said, “next time, baby!” Since the actor was recast it’s an unfortunate line in retrospect.

It is still unknown when Armor Wars may be released in terms of the MCU’s timeline and a director is yet to be attached to the project. Prior to the pivot to a movie format, production was thought to be eyed to go underway for 2023.