Don Cheadle’s cryptic comment from last year about War Machine’s whereabouts in Armor Wars makes sense now in light of Secret Invasion’s big reveal.
Secret Invasion dished out plenty of plot twists that reframed events and story arcs in the MCU, and it turns out Don Cheadle already hinted at the War Machine reveal in a loaded statement he made last year.
Cheadle barely held back spoilers on Secret Invasion and the upcoming Armor Wars movie when the actor was asked questions about James Rhodes/War Machine. Fans might have inferred James Rhodes’ true identity in Secret Invasion based on Cheadle’s tease in an interview with ComicBook.com at Disney’s D23 Expo last year. When asked about Rhodes’ location and condition coming into Armor Wars, the Iron Man actor said, "At a very different place, and in a way that is something I can't really talk about. But it is going to be very surprising to a lot of people."
One of Secret Invasion’s unintended reveals involved the breadcrumbs of hints Cheadle may have dropped about Rhodey’s character arc, teased in statements made last year. While the actor’s comments seemed neutral and enigmatic at the time, all are open to new interpretations in the context of the War Machine Skrull twist in the Disney+ series. "That's what's the fun about doing the Armor Wars series is that we're going to have an opportunity to really dig into that," Cheadle said in last year's interview, referring to Rhodey. "What's he dealing with emotionally? What's he dealing with psychologically? So that's why I said 'yes' to it, because I think it's going to be a lot of fun to get to know him in a way that, even if that this many years we've known him, we really don't know him."
Cheadle became James Rhodes when the role was recast in Iron Man 2. This makes Cheadle a senior cast of the MCU, even outlasting most of the original Avengers. Rhodes’ return in Armor Wars presents an opportunity to dig deeper into the character, considering everything that has transpired so far. "The great thing is there's just going to be so much opportunity to learn a lot about him and for him to learn about himself and for us, hopefully, to really be able to get behind what makes him tick," Cheadle asserted.
Secret Invasion has practically put the canon stories in the MCU to question, casting doubt on the true identity of any character in the entire franchise. Cheadle said his continuing portrayal of a complex and recurring part is a testament to the MCU’s longevity. "So that's the most fun of being in these shows, the opportunity to cross-pollinate each other's projects and find ways that these relationships continue to work and conflicts that we continue to cook up, and I think they do a great job of it, always making it interesting, exciting, and things you can't really anticipate," he said.
Secret Invasion is now available on Disney+.
Source: ComicBook.com
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