Although Marvel’s Hall H at SDCC 2022, was full of exciting announcements, one series that seems like it’s been in development for a long time was conspicuously absent from the future slate of Marvel productions revealed at the event – Armor Wars.
What’s up with Armor Wars?
Fans noticed this missing production at SDCC and many were concerned that the Don Cheadle-led series may have been scrapped entirely. Soon after, however, Armor Wars head writer Yassir Lester took to his Instagram stories to reassure fans that the series had not been scrapped. Staying simply, “I promise it is still coming out.”
I previously reported (via Twitter) in February that I had heard that the Armor Wars production would start filming in October or November. In late June, news that Armor Wars was still expected to film in Georgia in the Fall was supported by a film industry conference listing for a producer working on the project (via CBR). Indeed, I can confirm that Armor Wars is still expected to film in GA and was in fact registered in the state not long before SDCC.
Although I don’t at this moment have an expected, exact, “for certain,” start date, considering what I heard back in February and the information from the producer’s bio, it still seems about right.
That being said, production start dates are shifting a lot these days, and so don’t be too surprised if that shifts once again and there’s a 2023 start instead. But certainly, the production being registered in GA now means that they are getting closer to finally filming Armor Wars.
Exclusive: Armor Wars production title
Now, as for the new news, followed by my very Hulky theory… Back in October, I reported that Armor Wars working title was “Rigatoni,” but I didn’t have a production company attached to it yet. It’s been a long time coming but I can now exclusively report that Armor Wars is filming under Acid Pop Productions, LLC.
Acid Pop. Yup. That’s right. Ever since it was reported on as a Marvel LLC last year by the Ronin, I have seen a ton of speculation on what Acid Pop might be. From Young Avengers to Man-Thing, to Xavier’s School or Strange Academy. But I didn’t have Armor Wars is Acid Pop Productions on my Marvel LLC bingo card at all. Sometimes the names immediately make sense, and sometimes you’re left scratching your head. But I have no question that’s what it is.
The story and when we’ll see Rhodey again
Not a lot is known for sure about Armor Wars and it’s still not even clear if there’s a complete script written yet despite them being at work on it for quite a while now. In February 2021, Don Cheadle told Bro Bible that they would begin writing scripts that March.
In addition, Don Cheadle has previously commented about the series
“I think the most exciting part is yet to come. I think we don’t really have a super-strong idea who he is really, outside of that bubble of the Avengers, outside of necessarily his friendship with Tony, and now he’s gonna kind of be untethered from all of that. So it’s an opportunity to really kind of discover who he is in a way that we have not had before with concentrated time and focus on Rhodey and Rhodey’s journey and hopefully some stuff about his part and you know teeing up some things about his potential future. I think those kinds of things were hinted at in Endgame where this character might go and the things that may be in the offing for him.”
Although we’ve done plenty of speculation on who else might show up in Armor Wars, Marvel has been pretty mum about it. As far as when we might see Rhodey next, it’s already been confirmed that he will show up in Secret Invasion which drops on Disney+ in Spring 2023.
It’s possible Don Cheadle’s Rhodey shows up elsewhere as well, Ironheart and Black Panther: Wakanda Forever are prime candidates for a future appearance. Otherwise, we last saw him in The Falcon and the Winter Soldier where they were dealing with a new Superhero Serum on the block and a very naughty Sharon Carter.
But how could this series tie in with the Hulk?
Ok so here is one of my favorite parts that come with production titles, speculating on what the heck they might mean. As I was writing this scratching my head, it occurred to me… remember the Stan Lee cameo in The Incredible Hulk where he drinks a soda that a drop of Bruce’s blood had fallen into when it was bottled? This one…
As she says there, his soda had “a little more kick” than he was expecting. And you know that soda is also called “pop” in some places. So that’s when my eureka moment came for this theory – but not so dramatically as good old Stan the Man’s “Wow” there – and I wondered if “Acid Pop” could possibly be related to this iconic scene in The Incredible Hulk.
What if in Armor Wars one of the big things that Rhodey is having to deal with is the influx of more Hulks in the world? (or at least people trading in Hulk or Super Soldier serums) What if this scene is what “acid pop” is referring to as a “wink and a nod” in the production’s name?
Of course, this theory doesn’t really line up with Armor Wars comics, but then I wouldn’t expect the Disney+ series to line up with those anyway. Marvel doesn’t really do exact adaptations.
And while I don’t expect a lot of people are going to be drinking Hulk blood-tainted soda “pops” and becoming Hulks, there is already a history in the MCU of villains wanting to get their hands on Super Soldier Serum and Bruce’s blood to make more Hulks/Soldiers. So it makes sense that part of Armor Wars could be contending with that as well as Tony Stark’s wayward tech.
That being said, I’m sure the series will still deal with Tony’s old tech getting into the dangerous hands of some who shouldn’t have it. We’ve already seen heavy speculation and rumors that people like Sunny Burch, Justin Hammer, or Val Cooper could show up in the series. Or perhaps they will be new villains we’ve not seen in the MCU yet.
However, I find a possible Hulk-acid pop connection too interesting not to bring up here. This series just got a lot more exciting, if not only is Rhodey fighting people with Iron Man tech, but having to fight some superhumans as well. We might even have more light shed on this by the end of She-Hulk, and perhaps that’s why we haven’t heard more about Armor Wars at this point.
What do you think of my theory? What’s your theory for what “Acid Pop” means in relation to Armor Wars? Let me know on Twitter @mslizziehill or @mycosmiccircus!
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