10 Most Meta MCU Moments Ever
6. Rhodey Acknowledges He's Been Recast
The Pietro gag wasn't the first or only time the MCU has elbowed fans in the ribs about an actor being replaced.
For Iron Man 2, Terrence Howard was replaced by Don Cheadle to portray Tony Stark's (Robert Downey Jr.) best pal Rhodey, and to address the fact that Howard and Cheadle don't really look alike at all, Cheadle ad-libbed a one-liner that made its way into the final cut.
After Stark says that he didn't expect to see Rhodey at the Senate hearing, Rhodey fires back, "Look, it's me. I'm here. Deal with it. Let's move on." And when Stark tries to ask him a question, Rhodey abruptly tells him to "drop it."
While within the context of the scene Stark's surprise and Rhodey's irritation with the entire Senate hearing scenario totally make sense, on another level it's clearly a case of the movie basically telling the audience, "Look, just get over the recast and let's move on with the movie, OK?"
And that's exactly what fans did, given that Cheadle has portrayed Rhodey numerous times since and undeniably become the definitive live-action portrayal of the character.