Will Armor Wars Work Better as a Movie?

credit: MCU

It can honestly be said that one more series in the MCU timeline wouldn’t have been that much of an issue, but it would also appear that there’s faith that Don Cheadle might have the faith of those who were thinking that he might be better off on Disney+. It’s tough to say whether or not an Armor Wars movie would be coming to Disney+ or if it would hit the big screen, but it does feel safe to say that as a movie, it’s bound to be an attempt at a story that a lot of people are going to be talking about right up until it’s released, and far less afterward. I could be wrong, Armor Wars could be one of the next big stories that gain a great deal of attention in the MCU, but it’s a tough sell at this point, no matter who’s trying to back the movie and no matter who has anything positive to say about it. Armor Wars does sound like a great idea, but it also sounds ambitious as a series or as a movie. 

credit: Captain America: Civil War

Thinking that Rhodey can headline a movie or a TV series on his own is a gamble either way.

James Rhodes is a great character and has been for a while, but he’s been more of a supporting character than the main one, and thinking that he could become the lead character isn’t that big of a stretch. But thinking that another character or two might come along to take this story isn’t hard to think about either. Don Cheadle is a great actor, but asking him to take charge of Armor Wars is kind of a big step that he could take if he’d been given more responsibility within the last few movies that he’s been seen in. Some would argue with me on this, there’s no doubt about that, but trying to figure out if he could do it, not so much if he should, is a big hurdle that needs to be tackled.  

It’s interesting to realize we could see the return of Justin Hammer. 

Since Tony is no longer around, it might be best to think that Justin Hammer is going to need to go head-to-head with someone else that has the kind of pull and intelligence to go toe to toe with Stark’s longtime rival. That’s if Sam Rockwell wants to come back since there’s always a chance for a villain to come back these days, especially in the MCU since the multiverse, time travel, or just about anything else one can think of is up for grabs when it comes to bringing people back into the fold. But if Justin Hammer does manage to come back, finding someone that can top him would be intriguing since it could possibly be Riri Williams, but it would also need to be someone with the same kind of connections that would allow them to compete with Hammer, not just outsmart him. Rhodey is tough enough to stand against anything that Hammer might send against him, but while he’s intelligent, he’s not the type of guy that could outthink Hammer. Armor Wars is going to be a lot different without Tony Stark, especially considering that if the movie does manage to bring in several of the enemies that took part in the wars back in the comics, Rhodey could have his hands full and then some. 

credit: Iron Man 3

There could have been an advantage to keeping Armor Wars a TV series. 

There is one very distinct advantage that TV shows have over movies, and this is the fact that they generally have more time to develop characters and situations and can take the time from one episode to another to make certain that everything that needs the proper showcase gets it. A movie has roughly two to three hours to introduce everyone, make its case, and push the story forward in a manner that’s going to be convincing as well as entertaining. Thinking that the entirety of the Armor Wars will be able to start and wrap up in a single movie requires a lot of faith on the part of the fans. 

It’s worth the effort to see what will happen. 

Much like many other MCU stories, things have changed, and the initial story is going to have to change as well. Without Tony Stark, this storyline is going to change in a lot of big ways, but since Rhodey is there, it feels as though it’s going to be possible to reclaim at least some of it without having to change everything. Who we’re going to see, apart from Rhodey, will be interesting to figure out, especially if there are any crossovers that might occur.