When the Marvel Cinematic Universe began in 2008, it expanded rapidly and strategically, greenlighting a handful of films focused on Marvel Comics' roster of characters and pitching ideas for dozens more. While many Marvel Studios projects have been shelved over the years, one idea that has persisted for 15 years is a War Machine movie starring Don Cheadle.
After Cheadle took over the role of James Rhodes in Iron Man 2 from Terrence Howard, he became a firmly planted part of the MCU. Rhodes evolved from being just Tony Stark's best friend and right-hand man to wearing his own suit of armor and gaining the superhero title of War Machine.
Cheadle starred in a generation of MCU films, including Iron Man 3, Captain America: Civil War, and three Avengers movies. However, War Machine never got his own MCU solo project, even after 15 years of trying.
The MCU's War Machine Movie & Its Troubled Production Timeline
2011 - Don Cheadle Announces A War Machine Film
In 2011, Marvel was partway through what would become its first phase, with two Iron Man films under its belt, along with The Incredible Hulk, and solo movies for Captain America and Thor on the way.
Cheadle had just made his debut in Iron Man 2 as War Machine, and Marvel was making plans for its first major crossover, The Avengers. Out of Iron Man 2 came two major new heroes: Cheadle's War Machine and Scarlett Johansson's Black Widow.
It was a time when the MCU was so much smaller, and its existing pool of characters was less competitive. Nevertheless, Marvel Studios was in expansion mode, and Cheadle revealed to IndieWire that a War Machine film was on the list.
Don Cheadle: "They’re developing it now, they’re working on that. I think they’ve hired a writer, so we’ll see how it goes. It would be a lot of fun."
The news came after several rumors suggesting Marvel Studios had taken a War Machine pitch out to writers. In 2018, Black Panther writer Joe Robert Cole revealed to Complex he had won the War Machine job, but then Marvel passed on the movie after shaping the direction of Iron Man 3:
Joe Robert Cole: "At that meeting, they also said they were thinking of doing a 'War Machine' movie. I pitched a concept and won that job to write the script but they decided, based on what 'Iron Man 3' was going to be, they weren’t going to do War Machine anymore."
2020 - 'War Machine' Becomes 'Armor Wars'
After almost a decade of stagnation, during which Cheadle starred in Avengers: Age of Ultron, Avengers: Infinity War, and Avengers: Endgame, the War Machine project was finally revived at Disney's Investor Day in 2020.
During Marvel Studios' segment, President Kevin Feige announced a new project: Armor Wars. This Disney+ series was the new format for the War Machine idea that had been lingering at Marvel Studios for years, and came among other announcements for Secret Invasion and Ironheart. Cheadle was confirmed to return as a lead in Armor Wars, which would explore "what happens if Tony Stark's tech falls into the wrong hands?"
Comedian and screenwriter Yassir Lester was hired as Armor Wars' head writer in 2021, and it was soon rumored that the series would go into production in mid-to-late 2022. However, that time came and went, as did many other rumored production start dates.
In September 2022, The Hollywood Reporter's Borys Kit reported that Armor Wars would be a six-episode series, with Feige confirming the series would shoot in 2023. But once again, 2023 passed with no news on Armor Wars.
2022 - 'Armor Wars' Is A Movie Again
Shortly after the news of Armor Wars' episode count came out, an even bigger shakeup was revealed: Marvel Studios was turning the Disney+ series into a movie.
The Hollywood Reporter revealed that Cheadle and Lester remained attached and that the film would receive a theatrical release. The reason for the switch was reportedly that Marvel wanted to "tell the story the right way" and figured a feature film was the better format.
2026 - What Is Happening With Armor Wars?
Despite the announcement of an Armor Wars film over three years ago, there has still been no significant progress made on Cheadle's MCU movie.
In the years since, Cheadle has continued to star in Marvel projects, including Secret Invasion, which, at one point, was set to lead into Armor Wars. However, in 2025, it was rumored that Armor Wars had been stalled and retooled after the public backlash to Secret Invasion.
The same rumor also indicated that Armor Wars would be a post-Avengers: Secret Wars release, pushing it back to at least 2028.
Concerns have been raised that Marvel Studios has quietly canceled its Armor Wars movie, though it should be noted that the movie is still listed in the "2027 & Beyond" section on Disney's press site, suggesting it is simply on hold for now and not completely axed.
After 15 years in development, Cheadle's War Machine project is still no closer to reality. That being said, Marvel has yet to reveal its slate for its third major saga, so the studio could be waiting to see how Avengers: Doomsday and Avengers: Secret Wars pan out before confirming its next lineup of projects, which might be the best place to re-announce Armor Wars.
