Marvel's ARMOR WARS Is Reportedly Being Reworked Following SECRET INVASION Backlash
Marvel Studios' Armor Wars has had a rough journey in its development. It was originally announced as a Disney+ series in 2019, and the project was supposed to deliver a compelling continuation of War Machine's story.
Nearly five years the project has morphed into a feature film that now finds itself stuck in development limbo. Recent reports suggest the negative fan response to Secret Invasion might have thrown another wrench into the gears.
According to insider Daniel Richtman, Armor Wars isn’t cancelled, but it’s being reworked. He explained, “It’s also expected to focus on entirely different things than originally planned.”
If you’re wondering whether this has anything to do with the controversial Skrull reveal from Secret Invasion, you’re probably not alone.
In that Disney+ series, fans learned Rhodey had been replaced by a Skrull since Captain America: Civil War. The big twist didn’t land wkell with fans, many of whom felt it undermined the character’s arc.
While this revelation seemed to set the stage for Armor Wars, it now seems like Marvel might quietly pivot away from this plotline. It will be interesting to see if Marvel attempts to move on with Rhodey’s story without addressing what happened in Secret Invasion.
For now, it seems we won’t see Armor Wars until after Avengers: Secret Wars, giving Marvel plenty of time to figure out its future.
The original storyline hinted at War Machine taking on the fallout of Tony Stark’s technology falling into the wrong hands.
Even Don Cheadle, who has portrayed Rhodey since Iron Man 2, doesn’t seem entirely sure about where things currently stand. When previously asked about the status of Armor Wars, he joked:
“You can find out and let me know. [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.”
Cheadle also shared his thoughts on the Skrull twist, sounding less than thrilled. "It wasn’t a demand. It was a request. What do you think about playing this? And it was to set up stuff in the following thing.
“So, if the following thing happens, and all those things were set up, then that’s one thing. If...it doesn’t, then we can talk about how I feel about it after!"
The movie’s writer, Yassir Lester, who originally wrote the script for the series, also weighed in on the project, and its evolution, saying:
“I think that, like, Marvel is constantly in a state of, like, ‘What is the most interesting?’ And I … honestly believe some of their films should have been series and some of their series should have been films. And I think that they’re taking that more into account, giving that a little bit more thought now.
“Given like with Secret Invasion – all these other things [like] the way Rhodey’s story needs to fit into the bigger universe, there is a quicker version that kind of propels him back into the story a little bit quicker, as opposed to a meditation on who the character is.”
Armor Wars still has a lot of potential, but it’s clear that Marvel is treading forward carefully.
