In 2010, Iron Man 2 is scheduled to come out, with Robert Downey Jr donning Tony Stark’s armor again. It was expected that Terrence Howard, who plays Stark’s army friend Jim Rhodes, would also get to suit up as Rhodes’ comic book alter ego, War Machine. But if War Machine flys with Iron Man in the sequel, it won’t be Howard under the mask.

This isn’t the first time comic book franchises have recast roles. Lead characters like Batman, Superman and other heroes get new actors all the time, but in this case, it is a supporting character that is played by a new actor. But this has been done before by a franchise that Iron Man wants to live up to, the new Batman series.