It’s been more than four years since Marvel Studios announced Armor Wars. During the now infamous 2020 Disney Investor Day presentation, a slew of high-profile projects were revealed, with Don Cheadle’s first solo project as Colonel Rhodes, aka War Machine, being one of them. That’s the night Marvel confirmed a new Fantastic Four movie, then to be directed by Jon Watts. Eventually, Watts left with Matt Shakman (WandaVision) taking over. Meanwhile, we’re still waiting on this one.
To briefly recap, Armor Wars was first announced as a TV show for Disney+ in 2020. Cheadle, who has played Rhodey in the MCU since Iron Man 2, was set to lead the cast. Later, during Disney’s D23 Expo in 2022, the project shifted to become a movie. Cheadle joined Marvel Studios head Kevin Feige on stage to discuss the project and everything. Ever since then, it’s been very quiet.
Armor Wars is still technically in development, but official updates have been few and far between. Most recently, Marvel Studios producer Nate Moore spoke with Collider ahead of the release of Captain America: New World Order. During the conversation, Moore was asked about the film and his answer was fairly revealing.
“You know, that’s not my project, to be honest. But, I do know, as Marvel [Studios] continues to go through this phase, we want to make sure whatever we’re making is awesome. So that means we had to slow down some things that were on the front burner. It doesn’t mean we’ll never make it, but it does mean we just have to be a little bit more considerate so that every time out, audiences are guaranteed quality.”
Based on Moore’s comments, it’s pretty clear that Armor Wars has been moved to the backburner. For the moment, Marvel has bigger fish to fry as they try to bring the Multiverse Saga to a close. Will this movie still make sense when the dust settles on this phase of the MCU? Will Cheadle still want to continue playing Rhodey by then? These are important questions that will need to be answered.
Here is the brief logline for Armor Wars.
“Don Cheadle returns to the role as James Rhodes — aka War Machine — who must face these tech consequences in this classic Marvel story.”
What we know for sure is that this year will also see the release of Thunderbolts, which will conclude Phase 5 of the MCU. Then it’s onto Fantastic Four: First Steps, followed by Avengers: Doomsday in 2026 and Avengers: Secret Wars in 2027. As of right now, no other MCU movies have release dates, though other projects are in development. That includes the long-delayed Blade movie and a new X-Men reboot. Likely sequels such as Doctor Strange 3 and Shang-Chi 2 are also on deck. Disney currently has three mystery Marvel movies dated for 2028.
“You can find out and let me know,” Cheadle said when asked about Armor Wars in an interview with TVLine in 2024. “[Laughs] I don’t know, I’m not sure where anything is right now. I think things are going through a lot of changes, and we’ll see what happens, we’ll see what it is.”
Whether or not this movie remains in the cards after Secret Wars remains to be seen. Cheadle doesn’t seem to know what’s going on, which isn’t a great sign. The actor most recently appeared in Secret Invasion on Disney+. He’s also assuredly going to appear in the next couple of Avengers movies. What happens beyond that? It’s up for Cheadle and Marvel to hammer out.
Armors Wars remains without a release date.
What do you think? Are you bummed that this movie is on the back burner? Or do you think it’s better to leave this one alone? Join in on the conversation over on Facebook or Twitter!
