It’ll be interesting to see how Don Cheadle’s Rhodey fares on his own, when his entire character arc in the Marvel Cinematic Universe so far has been so inextricably linked with Robert Downey Jr.’s Tony Stark, dating right back to the brief Terrence Howard era. The longtime sidekick will finally take center stage in Disney Plus series Armor Wars, and there’s been plenty of speculation surrounding Iron Man’s potential involvement, or lack thereof.
Cheadle already admitted that Tony’s death is going to factor heavily into the story, which is loosely based on the comic book arc of the same name, with War Machine substituting for Iron Man. From what we understand, Rhodey will be forced into action when rogue Stark Industries technology falls into the wrong hands, and while that’s all we know so far, we should be finding out more soon with production set to begin long before the end of the year.
Various names that’ve circled in Tony’s orbit have been linked with cameos including Gwyneth Paltrow’s Pepper Potts, Sam Rockwell’s Justin Hammer and, of course, RDJ himself, and we’ve now heard from our sources – the same ones who told us the show was in development for Disney Plus long before it was confirmed – that Sam Wilson’s Captain America will be swooping in for an appearance.
It’d make a great deal of sense given their shared military backgrounds, and Rhodey guest starred in the first episode of The Falcon and the Winter Soldier to reference the legacy of the shield, so the storytelling seeds have already been sown. As things stand, Cheadle is the only member of the Armor Wars ensemble officially announced so far, but that’s expected to change shortly if cameras begin rolling this summer as expected.
