Is Don Cheadle returning as War Machine in 'The Avengers: Age of Ultron'?

The Avengers: Age of Ultron will be the next big ensemble film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe when it releases on May 1, 2015, which means that multiple superheroes will appear, even if some of them are just cameo roles. Don Cheadle as Col. James "Rhodey" Rhodes aka War Machine aka Iron Patriot is one of those possibilities.

A USA Today article from Thursday afternoon implies that Cheadle will return for the superhero sequel. The article points out that the actor just wrapped up work on the latest season of his Showtime series House of Lies and then "has a part to film in the next Avengers movie."

It's important to note that Cheadle does not directly say anything about Age of Ultron in the article, which focuses on the actor's reaction to his second consecutive Golden Globe nomination for Best Actor in a Comedy Series.

Cheadle played War Machine in Iron Man 2 in 2010 and then the character changed to Iron Patriot in Iron Man 3 earlier this year. If he does appear in Age of Ultron, it's unclear which version of the character he would play.

The Avengers: Age of Ultron currently stars Robert Downey Jr. as Tony Stark/Iron Man, Chris Evans as Captain America/Steve Rogers, Chris Hemsworth as Thor, Mark Ruffalo as The Hulk/Bruce Banner, Scarlett Johansson as Black Widow, Jeremy Renner as Hawkeye, Aaron Taylor-Johnson as Quicksilver, Elizabeth Olsen as Scarlet Witch, James Spader as Ultron, Cobie Smulders as Maria Hill and Samuel L. Jackson as Nick Fury. Joss Whedon once again writes and directs the movie.