How Marvel’s 'Avengers: Doomsday' could shape War Machine’s future
Avengers: Doomsday has a big piece of armor on the board—now the wait is to see if War Machine suits up.
As Marvel lines up heroes for its looming Doctor Doom showdown in Avengers: Doomsday, one name keeps not showing up: Don Cheadle’s War Machine. Early chatter and roundups of characters expected to join the fight have left Rhodey off the board, and Cheadle hasn’t been announced for the movie ’s cast.
- Captain America
- Thor
- Bucky Barnes
- Magneto
- Mystique
- Cyclops
Those are among the heavy hitters being floated for the Doom battle, but Rhodey isn’t on the lists so far. With no War Machine mention and no Cheadle casting, the character’s return in Doomsday looks uncertain for now.
That Skrull twist
Rhodey’s last on-screen chapter didn’t make things simpler. In Secret Invasion on Disney+ , Nick Fury discovered that “Rhodey” wasn’t Rhodey at all — a Skrull had replaced him, raising a big question: how long had the real Colonel James Rupert Rhodes been off the board? The reveal sent fans back through earlier MCU appearances, trying to pinpoint when the switch happened.
We needed to have a character that one would not expect to be a Skrull.
That’s how Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige explained the choice, in comments to Marvel.com, framing the twist as a deliberate shock.
Whatever happened to Armor Wars?
Rhodey’s solo project, Armor Wars, was first announced during Disney’s 2020 Investor Day as a six-episode Disney+ series built around what happens when Tony Stark’s tech falls into the wrong hands. Cheadle was set to return, and he’s said Secret Invasion could help set up that story.
The plan later shifted: Armor Wars was reworked into a theatrical film. Since then, it hasn’t landed a release window and has lingered in development, which only adds to the open question of when — and where — War Machine will suit up next.
For now, Marvel hasn’t announced Cheadle for Avengers: Doomsday, and Armor Wars has no release date.