Former "Iron Man" star Terrence Howard says he was "Pushed Out" of the film franchise

Recasting a role has its ups and downs, and leaves a lot of people wondering what could have played out behind-the-scenes in the production process. In the case of actor Terrence Howard, the former Iron Man star did not return to reprise his role as Col. James "Rhodey" Rhodes in 2010's "Iron Man 2" due to salary and contract disputes with Marvel Studios. He was then replaced by Don Cheadle, who also went on to star in the next sequel "Iron Man 3" and fought alongside Robert Downey Jr. in his own suit of armor as War Machine and the Iron Patriot.

Unfortunately it appears time does not heal all wounds, as a recent interview with Watch What Happens Live had the actor revealing more about the situation:

"It turns out, in order for — this is going to get me in a lot of trouble, but — it turns out that the person I helped become Iron Man, when it was time to re-up for the second one, took the money that was supposed to go to me and pushed me out." 

From the way it sounds alone, Howard is seemingly referring to Robert Downey Jr. as the person who "pushed him out". It's no secret that the former James Rhodes was the highest paid actor in the first Iron Man film, and it way before RDJ became a bankable star in his own right as Tony Stark/ Iron Man, who went on to star in two more sequels and the 2012 blockbuster team-up movie that was The Avengers.

Continuing on, Howard says:

We did a three-picture deal, so that meant we did the deal ahead of time. There was going to be a certain amount for the first one, a certain amount for the second, a certain amount for the third. They came to me with the second and said, “Look, we will pay you one-eighth of what we contractually have for you, because we think the second one will be successful with or without you."

And here's a clip from the video interview itself:

Terrence Howard robbed by Iron Man
Take the interview as you will, but that's the latest coming from Howard regarding his lost role in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. For more information, visit the source post at Entertainment Weekly.