Jim Rhodes' Character Was NOT Scaled Back For Iron Man 2

A few weeks ago, Entertainment Weekly reported on the details of the Terence Howard/Don Cheadle Iron Man 2 debacle, saying that, due to the problems with Howard for the first film:

...when Favreau and screenwriter Justin Theroux went to map out the sequel they found themselves minimizing Howard's story line. Once Marvel learned that Favreau was thinking of curtailing the role, the studio went to the actor's agents with a new and drastically reduced offer[.]

Now, according to MTV Splashpage, we learn that screenwriter Theroux has unequivocally stated that the Rhodes' character was not scaled back for the sequel:

All that stuff that was in the "EW" article...I don't know. I can only tell you what I know which is that from a writing standpoint we didn't do anything differently [with the character]. It's not like we were sitting there going, we need less of this or that. We just approached the characters and the story on their own terms.

Theroux also confirmed that Rhodes will in fact be integral to the plot:

I can't really speak to the plot stuff and all the rest of it but Rhodes is completely present in a very strong and big way...He's COMPLETELY present.

There you have it, folks: We'll be seeing a lot more of Mr. Rhodes, the army man who becomes War Machine, albeit with an infusion of Cheadle this time around.