Terrence Howard's Tom Holland embodying Peter Parker in a way Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield could not.
Of course, there have been a number of occasions where Marvel has been forced to recast. The most famous is Bruce Banner, with Edward Norton cast for The Avengers. Some of these recasts are still unexplained, such as John Slattery's replacing Gerard Sanders as Howard Stark.
Amusingly, it seems the first hero to be cast in the MCU was also the first recast. This is revealed in Ben Fritz's book The Big Picture, in which he recounts how Marvel hired Terrence Howard as James Rhodes, the future War Machine.
"Terrence Howard, who had recently been nominated for an Oscar for Hustle & Flow, was the first actor cast, as Tony Stark's best friend, and paid the most of anyone in the film: $3.5 million. The company figured it needed one somewhat prestigious actor to attract other talent, and by putting him in a ing role, they could spend the least amount possible doing it."
In one key scene in Iron Man 2. But, while Rhodes did indeed don the War Machine armor in 2010, it was with Don Cheadle instead. According to EW, Howard - who has a reputation for being difficult to work with - had repeatedly clashed with Marvel executives. One source claimed director Jon Favreau and the producers were unhappy with Howard's performance, and spent a lot of time cutting and reshooting his scenes.
Howard himself said he ultimately parted ways with Marvel over a salary conflict, with the studio wanting to offer him just one-eighth of the pay he had previously been contracted for. At the time, of course, Marvel's reclusive boss Ike Perlmutter still called the shots, and he was notorious for being thrifty with cash. The Financial Times reported Perlmutter suggesting nobody would care if Howard was replaced, because black people "look the same." Needless to say, Howard was unimpressed. "Apparently the contracts that we write and sign aren't worth the paper that they're printed on sometimes," he complained. "Promises aren't kept, and good faith negotiations aren't always held up."
And so, the relationship between Terrence Howard and the newborn Marvel Studios came to an abrupt end. War Machine - technically the first superhero cast in the entire MCU - was later played by Don Cheadle, who signed a 6-picture deal with the studio. Cheadle was actually at his daughter's birthday party when he got a call from his agent who offered him the deal; although he was initially hesitant due to the length of the contract, he agreed in the end and hasn't looked back since. Avengers: Endgame brought Cheadle's contract to an end, but hopefully he'll be willing to extend it and return as War Machine in Phase 4 and beyond.
