In Avengers: Infinity War, the Earth’s mightiest heroes will not only face off against the menacing Thanos, but also have to confront the wounded relationships and burned bridges left smoldering from Captain America: Civil War. A major casualty of that conflict was Tony Stark’s best friend, Colonel James Rhodes (Don Cheadle), who took a traumatizing blow in battle that left him battered, psychologically scarred, and learning to walk again.
When Nerdist visited the set of the third Avengers installment, we saw Cheadle wearing a sturdier leg rig than the one from Rhodey’s last appearance. The MCU star shared where we’ll find Rhodey on his road to recovery, and what’s to come in Avengers: Infinity War.
“Clearly there was a pretty significant moment for Rhodey at the end of Civil War, where he was accidentally shot out of the air by Vision,” Cheadle said, adding the joke: “…who is now my mortal enemy.”
All kidding aside, Cheadle told us, “I think it’s something that [Rhodey is] fighting to put behind him. But absolutely, it creeps up. There’s shots taken. There’s things said. Don’t want certain people behind me.” Singling out Vision, he noted, “I’m going to keep an eye on everybody, but I want to keep that jewel in front of me, not behind me.”
So, is it safe to say War Machine had recovered enough to get back in action? “He’s rejoining the team,” Cheadle confirmed, though he admitted getting back into that Stark Industries suit will be a challenge for Rhodey. “That’s going to be a thing for him to put that suit back on,” Cheadle said, “Last time he was in it, it didn’t go so well.”
In Civil War, Tony took Rhodey’s injury hard, and specially built the rig that’d help his friend regain mobility. Asked what their friendship is like heading into Infinity War, Cheadle teased, “They’ll always be taking the piss out of each other a little bit. But I think their relationship has deepened since the last event. I think Tony feels somewhat responsible and culpable in a way. But again, he’s always had (Rhodey’s) back in a way that only he could really have.”
Beyond Tony and the other Avengers, Rhodey will have new cosmic heroes and foes to face in Avengers: Infinity War. Regarding how his character is coping with the news of the intergalactic tyrant that is Thanos, Cheadle said, “Rhodey would prefer to deal with real-world things and that’s kind of what he understands. When we start leaving the planet and talking about things coming from outer space, he’s like, ‘Dude, I don’t even know what that is. I know how to fight guys in tanks and weapons and that. That’s something that’s beyond my pay grade.'”
“He’s been thrown into the deep end, as they all are in a way in this one,” Cheadle said. “So, everybody’s going to have to figure it out on their feet.”
From the looks of the movie’s second trailer, Rhodey is back on his feet and ready to go to war.
Avengers: Infinity War opens April 27th. Look for more from our set visit in the coming days. Which cosmic Marvel character do you want to see Rhodey interact with in Avengers: Infinity War?
Images: Disney/Marvel
More on Infinity War
- How will Chris Evans say goodbye to the MCU?
- Twitter picks crossover events even more ambitious than Infinity War
- These are Captain America’s best moments so far
