James "Rhodey" Rhodes (Iron Man Trilogy)

Iron Man (2008), the first film of the soon to be trilogy, was a surprise hit. So it was surprising that Marvel played some hardball and took their time bringing back Jon Favreau to direct the sequel. Though they ultimately did bring him back, Terrance Howard was replaced by Don Cheadle in the role of Col. James "Rhodey" Rhodes. The early rumors claimed that Howard wanted a bigger payday and threw a contract tantrum. In an interview with NPR however, Howard would say that he heard about the recasting the same way we did, saying, "It was the surprise of a lifetime. There was no explanation. I read something in the trades implicating that it was about money or something."

Aftermath: Instead of completely ignoring the fact that the character was recast, there were a couple jokes referencing that fact in Iron Man 2(2010). In the courtroom scene, when Rhodey is introduced, a surprised Tony Stark says, "Rhodey? What? Hey, buddy. I didn't expect to see you here." Rhodey, shown only from behind replies, "Look, it's me, I am here. Deal with it. Let's move on."

Also a reference to the recasting, at the end of the Garden Battle, Rhodey tells Tony, "I think you should lead with that next time." Favreau explains in the commentary, that it's a reference to the fact that they should have just cast Cheadle in the first movie. Tony apologizes by saying "Yeah, sorry boss. I could only use it once... It's a one-off." "One-off" is also a film term used to describe recasting.