It might sound a little harsh to describe him as such, but Don Cheadle’s War Machine is arguably the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s most famous sidekick. As Tony Stark’s best friend and closest confidant, Rhodey has always existed in Iron Man’s orbit, ever since Terrence Howard first played the role in Jon Favreau’s 2008 blockbuster.
Of course, when Robert Downey Jr. bowed out of the franchise in Avengers: Endgame, there were questions about how Rhodey would fit into the mythology without Tony. Those questions have since been answered, though, following the announcement of Armor Wars, a Disney Plus exclusive series that finally puts Cheadle front and center in his own MCU project.
Inevitably, Tony’s death will cast a huge shadow over the proceedings, and it’ll also factor heavily into the plot according to the latest reports. Armor Wars will be loosely based on the seven-issue comic book arc that first ran in the 1980s, with War Machine obviously replacing Iron Man as the driving force behind the story. We don’t know too much more about it than that, but The Post Cred Podcast has revealed that “Stark’s death will be a significant factor” in the series.
Armor Wars hinges on Rhodey being forced into action when Stark Industries technology falls into the wrong hands, which had always been one of Tony’s greatest fears. Downey Jr. has been linked with a cameo appearance in the show, too, which is hardly surprising when he’s been rumored for almost every MCU movie and TV series in development, but with the fact that he’s no longer around set to have such a huge bearing on the narrative, it’ll be interesting to see if he does indeed make an onscreen appearance.