Colonel James “Rhodey” Rhodes has been there ever since the MCU began with Iron Man in 2008. Technically it’s been seven movies for Don Cheadle’s Colonel Rhodes, and only one for Terrence Howard’s Rhodes, but you get the point- they’ve been here since the beginning.
Fans thought that Marvel already gave us all there is to know about the man inside the War Machine, considering that he has been one of the longest-serving characters in the MCU. But things will take a much more interesting turn in the upcoming Secret Invasion TV series and the Armor Wars movie, in which Don Cheadle teases fans of a much more developed War Machine and an insight into Colonel Rhodes’ character.
A Lot More To Know About Colonel Rhodes, Says Don Cheadle
We’re almost nearing the end of this year, with November and December being the only remaining months. This also means the addition of another year into the fourteen-year-long lifespan of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, which has grown into the most popular movie franchise of all time.
The next year, 2023, will greet fans with some new exciting additions to the MCU, with the most anticipated TV series being Secret Invasion. It will see the return of Samuel L. Jackson as Nick Fury, Don Cheadle as Colonel Rhodes, and so on along with new additions to the cast such as Game of Thrones star Emilia Clarke, who is set to make her MCU debut in the TV series.
Secret Invasion‘s plot will be revolving around the ‘secret invasion’ of shapeshifting aliens known as Skrulls who now pose a major threat to Earth and its inhabitants. What will be interesting to see here is how Don Cheadle’s Colonel Rhodes, or War Machine, has developed as a character in the TV series.
During a recent interview with Entertainment Weekly, the Hotel Rwanda star gave us an insight into how the upcoming Secret Invasion TV series will be exploring Rhode’s character-
“Who is Rhodey, where did he come from, what are the relationships, who is important to him, who is he important to, what does he want to do, what are his goals, what are his desires outside of the relationship with these people that we’ve seen, who is he when he’s by himself?”
“A lot of these things we haven’t seen before, so like I said there’s a good opportunity to explore all that stuff and hopefully create a full character. That now when we see the suit we see everything else, we know what’s behind him… It’s a rebirth in a way you know? It’s coming back to this character but we’ve never gone to the places that we’re about to go to in the show”
The 57-year-old star ends his comments by concluding that we’re “just getting to know to know him even after all this time”, which surely sparks some joy and excitement.
All the character development for Colonel Rhodes in Secret Invasion will eventually prepare him for Armor Wars, and fans cannot wait to see the War Machine in its full capacity as soon as possible.
Don Cheadle Says That Armor Wars Will Focus On Rhodey
In the many years that Iron Man was alive in the years leading up to his emotional departure in Avengers: Endgame, no other armored superhero was allowed the spotlight. This is true in the case of Colone Rhodes who as a character always felt overshadowed by his best friend Tony Stark i.e a sidekick.
However, Don Cheadle, who will be playing the man inside War Machine in Secret Invasion and Armor Wars gives us an exciting new update on Colonel Rhodes, who he says will get the chance to “be more three-dimensional” in the upcoming Secret Invasion TV series-
“He gets to be more three-dimensional and, you know, things that we like, don’t like, his desires, his fears, all the things that I think we’ve only cursorily looked at as Rhodey.”
Cheadle agrees that Rhodey was always kind of like a side character-
“He’s always sort of existed in the context of, you know, Tony, and the MCU, and his job as an Avenger. But really, like sort of, peel all that back and really get to know what it is.”
It would be pretty epic to see Colonel Rhodes take on the mantle of Iron Man, possibly, but this is a good place to start!
Secret Invasion is set for an early 2023 release on Disney+.
Source: YouTube
