Ahoy, squirts! Quint here with a nice, juicy casting rumor for you folks. A few days ago there was word that reached my ears about the role of Tony Stark in Jon Favreau's IRON MAN being offered to a very interesting actor. The word was that IRON MAN was being offered to HUSTLE & FLOW's Terrence Howard. That rumor was bizarre, yet somehow fitting. In the recent interview I did with Jon Favreau at Comic-Con, he told me that he was looking for a great actor that hadn't hit it huge yet, a name that wouldn't overshadow the title of the film. Howard fit that bill.

So, I checked in with sources deep within Paramount and Marvel to see if I could confirm this weird rumor. Besides having the perfect mustache for the role, I think a lot of fans wouldn't have been able to get around the racial difference, much like they didn't get behind Michael Clarke Duncan as Kingpin in DAREDEVIL.

I finally got one of my sources to tell me that Terrence Howard was indeed offered a role in IRON MAN, but not that of Tony Stark.

Going over my interview again, Favreau listed off a number of IRON MAN regulars who would appear in the film. The obvious conclusion I reached was that Terrence Howard was offered the role of James Rhodes, good friend to Tony Stark and future bearer of the armor and IRON MAN identity. He became known as War Machine after Stark reclaimed the name and suit.

So, that's the word. Terrence Howard has been offered the role of James Rhodes in the IRON MAN film. No guarantee he'll take it, but I think Howard is one of the most interesting actors working in the business today and his presence in the film will only make it better. Especially if we get to see Howard don a super suit in this film (or sequels) and kick some ass. What do you folks think?

-Quint
quint@aintitcool.com