Summary
Avengers: Secret Warswill no doubt feature many surprising moments, and can finally capitalize on anMCUpromise that was first teased inIron Manwith one such scene. The multiverse has already given audiences many satisfying payoffs that saw actors reprise their classic superhero roles. This includes Patrick Stewart’s cameo as Professor Xavier inDoctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness,Kelsey Grammer’s return as BeastinThe Marvels, and Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield putting on the Spider-Man suit again forSpider-Man: No Way Home.
The multiverse presents limitless possibilities, andSecret Warscan take advantage of that. The film could bring back dead MCU characters from alternate universes and characters first introduced by other studios, such as Sony or Fox. Marvel also could bring back actors who were later recast inthe MCU timeline, giving the studio the chance to turn around a poorly aged moment from the firstIron Manin theupcoming Marvel movie.
Marvel Just Confirmed A Key Secret Wars Element & I’ve Worked Out What It Means For Avengers 6
Marvel Studios seems to be introducing an organization to the MCU that I think will be crucial to the storyline of Phase 6’s Avengers: Secret Wars.
Secret Wars Can Finally See Terrence Howard Put On The War Machine Suit
Colonel James Rhodes was originally portrayed by Terrence Howard. TheEmpirestar played the character in 2008’sIron Manand was laterreplaced inIron Man 2by Don Cheadle, who still plays the role 14 years later. However, the plan was for Howard to play the role in more movies, leading to an unintentionally awkward moment. After seeing Tony take flight in his Iron Man suit, Rhodes looks at the Mark II and says, “Next time, baby.” While Rhodes would later use the suit as War Machine, Howard never put it on before being replaced by Cheadle.
Fortunately,Secret Warscould redeem this poorly-aged moment. As shown inLoki, variants from other universes do not have to look like the main Earth-616 versions. There may be another version of Howard’s Rhodes that exists somewhere in the larger multiverse. He could make an appearance as War Machine inSecret Wars, finally giving Howard the superhero moment thatIron Manteased.
Would Terrence Howard Actually Return For Secret Wars?
The bigger question regarding Howard’s return is whether the actor would be inclined to do so. Based on what Howard has said about his experience with Marvel, it seems unlikely he’ll return. According to arecent appearance onThe Joe Rogan Experience,Howard’s departure from Marvel occurred over a pay dispute. Howard says he initially agreed to a three-movie deal, but Marvel wanted to reduce his pay for the sequel, and Howard’s agent wasn’t happy. The actor then stated Marvel claimed he was terrible on set, rather than take the blame over the pay dispute.
“They said, ‘We want Terrence, but we want him to come back for a million dollars, instead of the 8 million that we had agreed to.’ My agent had an emotional reaction to a business decision, and he said, ‘F**k you’, and hung up the phone. Immediately, they go to Don Cheadle. But instead of just doing that, they had to spend, ‘Oh, he was terrible on set,’ and all of these things and went through all this stuff.”
Howard also said that he played a part in getting Marvel to hire Robert Downey Jr., and he felt the Iron Man star didn’t show the same support to him when he tried asking him for help. Considering this experience, he may not want to come back to a studio where he felt undervalued, especially for a smaller cameo role. Still, it’d be an amazing way to tie the beginning of the MCU toAvengers: Secret Wars.
