The Reason Why Terrence Howard Was Recast

Iron Man 2 was given the go-ahead months ago, and it appeared that the movie would return all of its original cast.

But even though Robert Downey, Jr. and director Jon Favreau signed on for the sequel, Terrence Howard was shocked when he was told that he was being replaced as Col. Jim Rhodes by Don Cheadle.

At first, many in Hollywood said that Howard was difficult on the set - a typical explanation for a move like this.

But that's not the case.

The reason was because Howard was the first actor signed onto the film, and was also the highest paid (even though he was in a supporting role). He received more than established actors Gwyneth Paltrow and Downey, Jr., who played the star of the movie.

So money was a big thing with Howard being recast, but it was also the fact that Favreau and his producers were unhappy with Howard's performance in the film. According to one insider, many of Howard's scenes had to be reshot, and there was also a great deal of editing done to make sure he didn't ruin the film.

And because it looked like Howard's character would have a rather large role in the sequel, given the end of the first film, Favreau needed to have the ability to grow the character and couldn't just minimize the role.

So Howard's performance, when combined with the amount of money he was going to make, was the deciding factor that led to Cheadle replacing him as Col. Rhodes.