3. Terrence Howard - Iron Man 2
Terrence Howard was on a hot streak when he was cast as James Rhodes in Iron Man. He was critically acclaimed for his performance in Hustle & Flow, and nabbing respected actors like him was part of Marvels roadmap for their planned Cinematic Universe. He earned respectable reviews for his performance; with the film teasing that Rhodes would become War Machine in the next entry. Then suddenly he was out, with Don Cheadle signing on to take his place. Why He Was Fired: The reported reason was that Howard had been paid too much for the original, given the small size of the role. Marvel wanted him to take a substantial pay cut for the sequel, which he refused to do. The unofficial reason is that Howard was something of a nightmare to work with, so people werent keen on him coming back. Howard has shown nothing but bitterness over the decision, claiming that Robert Downey, Jr. was only hired on his recommendation, that Downey, Jr. then betrayed him so he could steal part of his cheque and that losing the role cost him other high-profile offers.