A new trailer for Iron Man 2 is here, and it’s super lame.  Ha, just kidding, it’s totally awesome.  This one gives a deeper glimpse into the plot.  This time around, Tony Stark’s urban sidekick gets his own suit of armor, then they band together to fight the Russian version of themselves.  When you think about it, it’s a lot like Rocky IV.  But I’m okay with that for the following reasons:

• Rocky IV is badass.
• AC/DC.
• Rocket hands.

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War Machine, who’ll be played by Don Cheadle, promises to get ample screen time in Iron Man 2, which opens in May.  But Anthony Le here didn’t need to wait for the movie to come out before he built his own War Machine costume and made the bitches swoon.  It’s funny, the line “kiss my helmet” never used to work for me.  But then, mine was mandated by the doctor to correct my misshapen skull as I grew.  Ah, high school.  Anyway, you can check out the specs over at the Superherohype forums

It should be noted that Le claims he still needs to add additional hardware like “replusor gauntlets” before it’s complete.  That’s right, it’s not even finished yet and he’s already an unstoppable chick magnet.  So if you want to keep your girlfriend, you’d be wise to steer clear of the Talbot’s in Denver.  “Hello, police?  There’s a guy in a metal suit on a rampage.  Yeah, come quick, I’m pinned down behind the floral scarves.”

We finally have the first picture of War Machine from Iron Man 2.  He’s the silver dude standing behind Iron Man in the picture (they’re kinda doing that rock-n-roll-shoulder-rub pose a lá Aerosmith).  If you’re not familiar with the comic book, basically, War Machine is a second set of Iron Man-style armor worn by Tony Stark’s friend Rhodey, played by Terrence Howard in the first movie and Don Cheadle in the second.  You see, whereas Iron Man fights crime through hard work, strong fundamentals, and grit, War Machine relies more on explosiveness, natural athleticism, and an extra muscle in his leg that makes him run fast.

[via Yahoo]

^{Why yes, thank you, it is very literal.}

According to a new report in Hollywood Reporter (how apropos!!), Terrence Howard is out of the upcoming Iron Man sequel, and will be replaced by similarly Oscar-nominated black actor Don Cheadle (Cheadle’s nomination was for Hotel Rwanda in ’04, Howard’s for Hustle & Flow in ’06).

In the movie, Howard played Jim Rhodes, Tony Stark/Iron Man’s best friend and future armor-clad hero War Machine.
Marvel had no comment, but sources close to the deal said negotiations with Howard fell through over financial differences, among other reasons. Marvel, which had wanted to work with Cheadle, then decided to take the role in another direction and approached the actor [I presume they mean Howard here - it's not not called The Hollywood Proofreader for nothing], who is shooting Antoine Fuqua’s “Brooklyn’s Finest” with Richard Gere and Ethan Hawke.

They’re both great actors, so I don’t see this having that much affect on the final movie, which  teams original director and star Jon Favreau and Robert Downey Jr. with Tropic Thunder screenwriter Justin Theroux (a good move – the screenplay was definitely the weakest point of the first one).  But I don’t see how they can cite financial reasons and in the same breath say they wanted Cheadle all along.  One would assume Cheadle doesn’t come cheap either.  I guess the only real danger here is confusing people into thinking Tony Stark has more than one black friend.