Marvel quietly cancels movie nobody expected, reports say

Marvel Studios has been enjoying an incredibly successful year. The vast majority of that success is down to one movie, as Deadpool and Wolverine has taken the world by storm. The billion-dollar sensation was the win that the studio needed after 2023 saw it suffer a number of misses, resulting in two significant underperformers at the box office. This year's sole Marvel Cinematic Universe release has made up for that and allowed them to bounce back, but the studio has still been doing some reshuffling to avoid any future issues.

Part of their new strategy has been to reportedly re-evaluate or rework certain in-development projects. This has already led to a multitude of rumors about certain projects returning for second seasons, while other "riskier" projects are potentially shelved altogether.

Now, another recent report has claimed that the studio has indeed shelved another project that was on the horizon.

Armor Wars rumored to have been cancelled

According to Marvel scooper Exiled Scooper, Armor Wars has been quietly cancelled by Marvel Studios. There is no indication as to when the decision might have been made, but it wouldn't be too out-there to believe it came within the last year if true.

While it's always important to take rumors, scoops, and reports with a grain of salt until otherwise confirmed by Marvel Studios, the reason that this particular one carries some weight is the lack of clarity surrounding the project from Marvel over the past year (or, well, number of years).

Armor Wars was first announced by Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige back in 2020. In its original incarnation, it was set to be a Disney Plus series, starring Don Cheadle in his return to the role of James "Rhodey" Rhodes in a project that would see him attempt to carry on the legacy of his best friend Tony Stark when Iron Man technology ended up in the wrong hands. Two years later, it was repackaged as a movie instead.

Since then, however, there haven't been any significant updates about the project or its future, which has thrown it into question. Fans were hoping that, considering Cheadle's status as an MCU veteran, that it would be one of the titles that avoided the potential cancellation spree but earlier this year, rumors began to float around that it might be in jeopardy.

Another aspect that hasn't helped the show's chances is how the MCU has handled the character of Rhodey in recent projects. The character had a minor supporting role in Disney Plus series The Falcon and the Winter Soldier but it was his role in Secret Invasion that resulted in widespread criticism from fans, as it revealed that he had been impersonated by a Skrull for quite some time, with the real Rhodey having been taken and imprisoned sometime after the events of Avengers: Endgame. The original theory suggested he had been taken sometime after the events of Captain America: Civil War, which would have been far worse as it would have meant that he wasn't aware of Tony's death.

Even so, the reputation of Secret Invasion harmed all of the characters involved in it, and this was around the time when fans wondered if Marvel would shift away from Armor Wars as a result of that. That likely wasn't ever on the table, but it might have forced some reshuffling before setting it in motion.

If Armor Wars has been cancelled, it is likely down to the same reasons that movies like Ant-Man 4, Captain Marvel 3, and Eternals 2 have been shelved; Marvel is taking less risks going forward as it seeks to re-establish its dominance in both the box office and the streaming fields. Again, fans had hoped that Armor Wars would have avoided that outcome, but honestly the idea to shift it from a TV series to a movie probably wasn't Marvel's best.

We'll have to wait and see if it truly has been scrapped. Hopefully that isn't the case, as the concept has real potential and Cheadle deserves the spotlight after all these years. But if it has, it likely won't be the last we see of Rhodey, as he is a beloved part of the MCU and fans want answers after the questionable developments in Secret Invasion.