The Marvel Cinematic Universe may be killing it now — and it may have even gotten off to an amazing start with Iron Man, but there’s no denying that it suffered a couple of casting bumps and bruises along the way. Edward Norton famously stepped away from the character of Bruce Banner after The Incredible Hulk, but perhaps the most distracting replacement came in the form of War Machine.

Terrence Howard took on the role in the first Iron Man film, perfectly encapsulating the role of Rhodes (at least in my mind), even teasing audiences for his role to come with his “next time, baby” line as he eyed an unfinished silver prototype suit. But it was never meant to be, as negotiations fell through for the sequel, and he was replaced by Don Cheadle for future films.

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While on the show Watch What Happens Live, Howard was asked if he would ever come back. Here was Howard’s response:

“You know what’s so funny? Even though I love Don Cheadle so much and I love what he’s done, I still hear a lot of fans asking, ‘Am I going to come back and be War Machine? Am I going to come back and be War Machine?’ I think they could have a huge franchise off of it, but f**k ’em.”

Yeah, it comes across pretty darn cocky, and it actually is. But I do highly recommend actually watching the clip (above), because while it is a bit salty, it comes across to me in a much jokier manner than it does in print. On the whole, I think most would agree that Cheadle was a worthy replacement, but even today, my OCD kicks in as I wish Marvel Studios was able to make something work. My mind hates inconsistency, and I would have loved to see them be able to work something out with Howard.

Did this swap ever bother you? Sound off down below!

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SOURCE: Watch What Happens Live