(Photo Credit: Marvel Studios)
Avengers: Doomsday and Avengers: Secret Wars will reportedly be missing a key member of Earth’s Mightiest Heroes.
Which former Avengers hero reportedly won’t be in the next two crossover movies?
According to scooper James Mack on X, Don Cheadle is not expected to return as James Rhodes/War Machine in Doomsday and Secret Wars. Cheadle has played the fan-favorite superhero since succeeding Terrence Howard in the role beginning with Iron Man 2 in 2010.
i dont think so https://t.co/JvQVYGk7MD— James Mack (@JamesMackwl) April 1, 2026
Cheadle is one of the few actors to have popped up in every single phase of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. After appearing in Iron Man 2 (Phase 1), Cheadle went on to star in Iron Man 3, Avengers: Age of Ultron (both Phase 2), Captain America: Civil War, Avengers: Infinity War, Captain Marvel, Avengers: Endgame (all Phase 3), The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, What If…? (both Phase 4), and Secret Invasion (Phase 5).
If Cheadle does not appear in Doomsday or Secret Wars, it does not look likely that he will appear in a Phase 6 project. He is not expected to appear in Spider-Man: Brand New Day, the only other Phase 6 movie set to be released beyond the Avengers sequels, nor has he been rumored for any of the upcoming Disney+ series (VisionQuest, Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man Season 2, and Daredevil: Born Again Seasons 2 and 3).
In his last appearance, Secret Invasion, Rhodes was revealed to have been replaced by a Skrull before the events of the Disney+ limited series, with several clues pointing to the swap occurring during the events of Captain America: Civil War. This angered a large portion of the Marvel Cinematic Universe fandom, who didn’t like that this meant Rhodes was unaware his best friend, Tony Stark, had died saving the world in Avengers: Endgame.
Marvel Studios could be hesitant to bring War Machine back until after the conclusion of the Multiverse Saga as there likely wouldn’t be enough time in either Avengers sequel to properly resolve this controversial storyline, at least in an effective way. Marvel intended for it to be handled in the Armor Wars movie, but after repeated delays, the project no longer seems to be a major priority for the studio and may not even happen.
All of the MCU projects featuring War Machine can be streamed on Disney+. Avengers: Doomsday arrives in theaters on December 18, 2026, followed by Avengers: Secret Wars on December 17, 2027.
