Secret Invasion is set to see the return of Don Cheadle as James Rhodes, a.k.a. the War Machine. During the global press conference for the Disney Plus series, the actor revealed what Rhodey’s role is in a world without Iron Man and how he’s changed for the new era of the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
The Disney Plus series Secret Invasion features the return of a number of former MCU stars taking on brand new roles, from Samuel L. Jackson finally taking a leading role as Nick Fury to Cobie Smulders stepping out of the shadows as Maria Hill. No role is perhaps more interesting than Don Cheadle’s James Rhodes, who is set to be seen in a whole new light in the series. When asked about how Rhodey reacts in a post-Iron Man world, Cheadle took a quick jab at Robert Downey Jr. being dead weight before discussing his role across from Jackson:
“It was liberating not to have to carry that dead weight — no,” Cheadle joked during the panel “It was great. Look, I’ve known Sam for a long time, and, you know, we’ve spent a lot of time, you know, talking about what it would be like to work together, looking for projects to do together. So, you know, the central relationship between myself and Sam, and this is, you know, it was very important to me and I was very glad to be brought on. I don’t think it was originally conceived that Rhodey was gonna be in this. But when it came to me and Sam called me, I was really excited about leaning into it.”
Don Cheadle also talked about Rhodey’s new role in the MCU. While the character has always been involved with the military in the Iron Man series of films, Cheadle describes Rhodey diving further into the political machine in Secret Invasion, teasing interactions with more actors than just Samuel L. Jackson as Nick Fury:
“Yes. I think we’re just kind of finding out what’s happening with Rhodey as this series goes on,” Cheadle reveals to the panel “He’s in a different role. We see him as more a political animal than we have in the past. He’s been more of a military man, but now he’s sort of, you know, in some ways, a right hand of the president and this special envoy, in that regard. But I think what I’m looking forward to is just seeing more, you know, getting under the hood of who he is and seeing how this relationship, not only with Nick Fury, but the other cast members evolves.”
Many fans speculate that Secret Invasion will reveal that Don Cheadle has secretly been a Skrull for years in the MCU. While this may or may not happen, it seems as though fans will be seeing a brand new side of Rhodey in the series as he adapts to a world without Robert Downey Jr. as Iron Man.
How Marvel is adapting Secret Invasion
Secret Invasion is based on the comic book storyline of the same name, which was created by Brian Michael Bendis and Leinil Francis Yu . The story revolves around a group of Skrulls, an alien race that has the ability to shape-shift and take on the appearance of anyone they want. The Skrulls have infiltrated Earth’s society and are secretly replacing key figures with their own kind in order to take over the planet.
The full Secret Invasion cast also includes Cobie Smulders as Maria Hill, Kingsley Ben-Adir as Gravik, Emilia Clarke as G’iah, Don Cheadle as James “Rhodey” Rhodes and Martin Freeman as Everett K. Ross. Olivia Colman, Dermot Mulroney, Killian Scott, Christopher McDonald, Carmen Ejogo and Charlayne Woodard are also on board in undisclosed roles.
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