Since the moment that Marvel Studios announced that they would be beginning their cinematic universe with an Iron Man movie, casting rumors have swirled around each and every new project. Some of them actually pan out, like when Hugh Jackman was confirmed to appear in Deadpool 3. Most of them are merely Reddit thread fodder. That’s mostly the case for an extremely popular casting rumor that comes to mind every time we try to watch the Marvel movies in order. Tom Cruise, according to the story, was supposed to play Tony Stark back in the first Iron Man. The rumor was so persistent, fans thought they might see an Iron Man variant – played by Tom Cruise – in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. Now we know, from Kevin Feige himself, why Cruise never played the part.
We have been digging deeply into the excellent new book, MCU: The Reign of Marvel Studios. And in this particular passage, Feige addressed the reason why Tom Cruise didn’t work out as billionaire playboy philanthropist Tony Stark. Per the book:
Ten years earlier, when the Iron Man rights were at 20th Century Fox, Tom Cruise, then thirty-four, had flirted with the idea of playing Stark. According to Feige, however, Cruise’s asking fee at the time was more than even a profitable studio like Fox was willing to risk on an untested superhero property.
We have so many upcoming Marvel movies to focus on, but it’s always fun to go back and review what could have been in the MCU. Where was Tom Cruise around the time that Iron Man went into production? Granted, he’s been a massive star almost from the get go. And he has enjoyed peaks and valleys. But when Marvel Studios was casting for Tony Stark, Cruise had the lukewarm Lions for Lambs in theaters, and was coming off of the underrated Mission: Impossible 3 (2006) – not the one where he injured himself – and Steven Spielberg’s War of the Worlds. Which is why his asking price was so high.
At this point, we can’t imagine anyone other than Robert Downey Jr. in the role of Tony Stark. He’s so beloved in the part, fans took to the Internet to celebrate the date in the MCU when Stark sacrificed himself to stop Thanos. But the curiosity about Cruise will never fade away. To the point where, as we hear rumors about Avengers: Secret Wars coming together, we still think that Cruise might show up as an Iron Man variant. However, it also feels like most of the heroes who can appear in Secret Wars will be variants that previously showed up in Marvel movies, including Ben Affleck’s Daredevil or Nicolas Cage’s Ghost Rider.
Make sure to grab a copy of MCU if you have any passing interest in the construction of Marvel’s cinematic universe, from rumor to fact. It’s a terrific read.
