The actor who played Iron Man/Tony Stark in the film is speaking out for the first time about Howard being dropped from the cast. Howard is being replaced by Don Cheadle for the Iron Man sequel, expected to be released in 2010.
Robert Downey Jr. talked about Paramount’s decision to replace Howard, saying, "I had nothing to do with that decision. I love Terrence very very much. That’s all I’ll say because I haven’t talked to him yet."
Downey Jr. doesn’t know what pushed the studio to hire Don Cheadle to play Tony Stark’s best friend, Jim Rhodes. The actor added, "It’s one of those situations where I still don’t quite know what happened or why."