'Robert pushed me out of the Iron Man franchise'

Terrence Howard, who had essayed the role of James Rhodes in Marvel's 'Iron Man', claimed that he was pushed away from the film's cast.

The Oscar-nominated actor was offered a good deal, reportedly between 3.5 million and 4.5 million. This made him the highest-paid star in the entire movie. He was promised an additional five million if 'Iron Man 2' happened, in which he was supposed to play the 'War Machine'.

Things changed completely when 'Iron Man' became a blockbuster and effectively launched the MCU. While Robert Downey Jr was welcomed by people with open arms, news started trickling in that Howard's relationship with 'Marvel Cinematic Universe' was not going as planned.

When 'Iron Man 2' happened, Howard's role was allegedly cut short, which implied the financial understanding too. While he had a three-film contract with 'Marvel' and they were supposed to pay him eight million for the sequel, all the studio was ready to fork out was a measly one million, which was way less than the first film.

Amid the negotiations with 'Marvel', Howard called Downey Jr. The story went that Howard took a one million pay-cut for the first 'Iron Man', so that Downey could be hired. Terrence wanted him to return the favour.

"I called Robby but he was not available. I left messages to his assistants, called him at least 17 times that day and finally left a message saying, 'Look man, I need the help that I gave you'. I never heard from him," Howard revealed.

"And guess who got the millions I was supposed to get? He got the whole franchise, so I have given him 100 million, which ends up being a 100 million loss for me from me trying to look after somebody, but you know, to this day, I would do the same thing. It is just my nature," Howard added.

He continued, "It turns out that the person that I helped become 'Iron Man' when it was time to re-up for the second one took the money that was supposed to go to me and pushed me out'."