Wanna know why Terrence Howard won’t be coming back for Iron Man 2? I know you do and I am wondering if those that were down on the switch to Don Cheadle will think differently once they learn what Entertainment Weekly has to tell us or if they still think Howard got the shaft.
Here is the skinny as reported by “EW” in a slightly paraphrased fashion:
Howard was the first actor signed to the film and, on top of that, was the highest-paid… more than Gwyneth Paltrow, Jeff Bridges [and] Robert Downey Jr. And once the project fully came together, it was too late to renegotiate his deal. It didn’t help that, according to one source, Favreau and his producers were ultimately unhappy with Howard’s performance, and spent a lot of time cutting and reshooting his scenes.
As such, when Favreau and screenwriter Justin Theroux went to map out the sequel they found themselves minimizing Howard’s story line. Once Marvel learned that Favreau was thinking of curtailing the role, the studio went to the actor’s agents with a new and drastically reduced offer — a number that’s similar to what supporting cast members were paid for the first movie. The agents, according to sources, were so taken aback by this new figure — estimated at somewhere between a 50 and 80 percent pay cut — that they questioned it.
It’s unclear whether Howard’s team walked away first, or if Marvel ended the discussion at that point. Either way, the studio moved quickly to secure Cheadle and the story leaked out the next morning, Oct. 14. And alas for Howard, there will be no next time.
Outside of saying Favreau wasn’t particularly happy with Howard’s performance the article mildly insinuates he was also a problem on the set, but since those claims seem to be unsubstantiated I removed them from the information above, but you can get the full details here.
It sounds to me like it came down to money and if this report is true I have to assume the role is reduced drastically, because I see no other reason why Howard wouldn’t agree to a lower pay check since talk of a spin-off film featuring his character have been floating around ever since film went into production.
Does this mean War Machine has a minimized role in the next film? No role? Are they rewriting now that Cheadle is aboard? We will have to wait and see, but outside of money complaints I feel like there must be a few holes in EW’s report.
When asked about being dropped from the flick Howard was recently quoted in an interview saying, “It was the surprise of a lifetime. There was no explanation. [The contract] just…up and vanished. I read something in the trades implicating that it was about money or something, but apparently the contracts that we write and sign aren’t worth the paper that they’re printed on, sometimes. Promises aren’t kept, and good faith negotiations aren’t always held up.”
