Don Cheadle is, according to a report from The Hollywood Reporter, stepping in to replace Terrence Howard as James Rhodes in the upcoming sequel to 2008’s summer blockbuster, “Iron Man”.

Sources close to the deal are reporting that the replacement stems from financial differences in negotiations with Howard, and that Marvel Studios had initially wanted to work with Cheadle for the first Iron Man film, directed by Jon Favreau.

In the comics, Rhodes is Iron Man/Tony Stark’s best friend and pilot, eventually stepping into to take up the mantle of Iron Man for a while before Stark returns after defeating personal demons. Rhodes then becomes War Machine, using a weapons-laden black and silver version of Iron Man that Stark gives him. He first appeared in 1979 as the pilot who rescues Tony Stark when he escapes the imprisonment that lead to his creation of the first Iron Man suit, and is currently starring in both the book “Iron Man: Director of SHIELD” and as a key character in the “Avengers: The Initiative” title.

Iron Man 2 is tentatively scheduled for May 7th, 2010, with Favreau returning to direct, Robert Downey Jr. as Tony Stark/Iron Man, and Gwyneth Paltrow as Pepper Potts.

Stay tuned to Toxic Shock TV for more Marvel news.

By Costa Koutsoutis, (Source: The Hollywood Reporter)