Iron Man's Terrence Howard claims Robert Downey Jr owes him $100 million

For many people, Iron Man is where it all began for the MCU – but this couldn't be further from the truth for Terrence Howard.

Cast your minds back to the 2008 superhero movie, which saw Robert Downey Jr.'s debut as Tony Stark, and you'll remember that Howard portrayed the original James 'Rhodey' Rhodes, aka War Machine.

And while he was initially the highest paid actor in the movie, he claims Downey Jr. now owes him a fortune – $100 million to be precise.

In a 2015 interview with Rolling Stone, Howard explained that the Marvel bosses originally didn't want to book the Natural Born Killers star due to 'his past drug problems'.

But Howard, who was offered $3.5 million for the first Iron Man and an additional $5 million if a sequel got made, agreed to take a $1 million pay cut from his salary if they booked him.

And they did, with the Empire star telling the outlet: "Robert was so thankful and dadadadada."

When it came to Iron Man 2, however, things turned a little sour. Howard's agent got a call from Marvel saying they were cutting down his part and therefore his salary. His agent turned down the offer, and shortly after Don Cheadle was announced as his replacement.

Marvel Studios

Disappointed with the unheroic move, Howard continued: "And so I called Robby and was like, 'Look, man . . .' Leaving messages with his assistants, called him at least 17 times that day and 21 the next and finally left a message saying, 'Look, man, I need the help that I gave you.' Never heard from him.

"And guess who got the millions I was supposed to get? He got the whole franchise, so I've actually given him $100 million, which ends up being a $100 million loss for me from me trying to look after somebody."

As for whether he has any regrets, the actor stands by his actions, adding: "You know, to this day I would do the same thing. It's just my nature."

dpa picture alliance/Alamy Stock Photo

Chances are that figure has gone up since then, with Cheadle set to lead the MCU's Armor Wars.

Although Downey Jr. left the franchise as his character died in the fight against Thanos in Avengers: Endgame, the upcoming project has some fans convinced he will return – although this is very much just speculation at this point.

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Topics: Money, Marvel, Marvel Cinematic Universe, Robert Downey Jr, Film and TV

Daisy Phillipson

Daisy graduated from Kingston University with a degree in Magazine Journalism, writing a thesis on the move from print to digital publishing. Continuing this theme, she has written for a range of online publications including Digital Spy and Little White Lies, with a particular passion for TV and film. Contact her on [email protected]

@DaisyWebb77