To the shock and excitement of fans, Kevin Feige announced Armor Wars at Disney's Investor Day presentation, which will star Don Cheadle as War Machine and is rumored to adapt the story arc of the same name from the comics. Fans already assumed that Tony Stark would influence the series, but Cheadle himself confirmed that the death of Iron Man would impact the series:
“The death of Tony Stark, I’m pretty sure, will play a role in the series.”
It is expected that Armor Wars, along with Secret Invasion, will release sometime in 2022. Fans are still anticipating that Armor Wars will connect to Ironheart, which was also announced as a new series starring Dominique Thorne as the titular hero.
In a recent interview, Cheadle gave more details about what his series will be about and how it will affect Rhodey as a character.
JAMES RHODES UPGRADES?
In an interview with BroBible’s Post-Credit Podcast, Don Cheadle gave more details about Armor Wars, specifically about where Rhodey's character will go next in this series. Cheadle points to Rhodey's newfound mobility and how he envisions another “elevation” with his suit and the technology:
“Where we've been sort of progressing Rhodey—even in the last film where he's now up again and he's now walking again and he's now mobile again—so as the technology continues to develop and we keep making innovations in the suit and what happens, I imagine there's gonna be another elevation and another way that we're going to keep digging into that part of Rhodey.”
Cheadle further emphasized how Marvel Studios is “figuring out” how to make the world in the comic books translate on screen in the MCU work:
“But really, figuring out a way to bridge what's happening in the comic books with what's happening on screen in the MCU and how we're going to make those worlds work, that's really exciting.”
Additionally, Cheadle indicated that writing for Armor Wars would begin next month, which means that it's likely a showrunner will be announced soon.
RHODES' TRAUMA
Rhodes, as is tradition and a rite of passage for many comic book characters, has died, but was brought back to life in the comics. However, it wasn't without consequence as Rhodes suffered PTSD after being killed wearing his War Machine armor, along with all the other times he was mangled wearing it.
It's possible that after nearly being cooked out of his suit in Iron Man 3, becoming paralyzed from a fall wearing it, and nearly suffocating under rubble as it nearly crushed him to death, that Rhodey might develop a similar form of anxiety or PTSD as Tony did in Iron Man 3 after his near-death experience in The Avengers. However, Rhodes isn't a technological genius like Tony, and it's doubtful that anyone in the United States Government can match his tech.
So, who will it be that helps develop the technology and bring new innovations to his suit? It could likely be where a teenage genius, such as Riri Willaims, comes into play and gives War Machine a helping hand in upgrading his armor.
