tom cruise in marvel

What Tom Cruise Has Said About Why He Turned Down Playing Iron Man In The MCU

The MCU could have looked much different!

From the beginning, the Marvel Cinematic Universe has been loaded with incredibly talented actors playing its most iconic superheroes, as well as those unforgettable and nuanced villains. That all started back in 2008 when Iron Man blasted its way into theaters and launched the franchise, while also giving its star, Robert Downey Jr ., a shot an even bigger career. Even though Downey’s Tony Stark has become one of the most beloved heroes in superhero movie history, another icon of the industry was once attached to portray the genius, billionaire, playboy , philanthropist…and that man was Tom Cruise .

The story of Tom Cruise’s involvement with the MCU goes back nearly 20 years, well before Kevin Feige and Marvel Studios changed the superhero movie landscape, and even longer before the Top Gun: Maverick actor was rumored to be playing Supreme Iron Man in the cameo-heavy Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness . With all this history, some might be wondering what Cruise himself has had to say about one of the biggest “what ifs” in cinematic history. Well, look no further…

Tony Stark suited up as Iron Man in Captain America: Civil War

Before Robert Downey Jr. Took On The Role, Tom Cruise Was Long-Rumored To Play Iron Man

The list of actors who almost played Marvel characters is full of some of today’s most recognizable faces (and voices), and at the top is Tom Cruise. Back in 2006, we covered some of the speculation surrounding the ageless actor portraying Tony Stark in the yet-to-launch Marvel Cinematic Universe. According to multiple reports at the time (most of which have been lost to time in the ever-changing internet since then) Cruise was rumored to have been interested in playing Iron Man as far back as 2004, when Jon Favreau first came aboard to direct the movie.

With Paramount Pictures producing the film, it made sense to have one of the studio’s biggest stars front and center. However, it just wasn’t meant to be and the role went to Robert Downey Jr.

Robert Downey Jr. as Iron Man in the MCU.

Tom Cruise Expressed Doubts At The Project Working At The Time

Even though there was speculation that Tom Cruise would be leading the Iron Man movie in 2006, the actor expressed his doubts about the project over a year earlier when he was asked about the long-rumored project. During a visit to the War of the Worlds set in February 2005, IGN asked Cruise about the prospect of playing Tony Stark and if the movie would ever come to fruition, to which he replied:

[Marvel Studios] came to me at a certain point and, when I do something, I wanna do it right. If I commit to something, it has to be done in a way that I know it's gonna be something special. And as it was lining up, it just didn't feel to me like it was gonna work. I need to be able to make decisions and make the film as great as it can be, and it just didn't go down that road that way.

Later on in the interview, Cruise explained that he has never made a movie just to make a movie and that he needed to be interested in the story. When it came to Iron Man he said it just wasn’t “panning out” as of yet. But this wouldn’t be the first time Cruise was attached to portray Iron Man nor was it the last time he would speak on the matter.

Robert Downey Jr as Tony Stark at the end of Iron Man

Tom Cruise Later Said He Was ‘Not Close’ To Playing Iron Man

The speculation surrounding Tom Cruise and his involvement with the Marvel Cinematic Universe would continue to creep up in the years following those initial reports and comments, including in April 2018, in an interview with ComicBook.com . When asked about how close he was to playing Tony Stark before Robert Downey Jr. came into the picture, Cruise had this to say:

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Not close, and I love Robert Downey Jr. I can’t imagine anyone else in that role, and I think it’s perfect for him.

In addition to sharing praise for his Tropic Thunder co-star, Cruise said he wouldn’t “rule anything out” in terms of showing up in a superhero movie at some point in the future.

Doctor Strange and Wong in Doctor Strange In The Multiverse of Madness

The Doctor Strange In The Multiverse Of Madness Screenwriter Originally Wanted Tom Cruise’s Iron Man In The MCU Movie

The buzz surrounding the whole “Tom Cruise as Iron Man” business died down somewhat over the years, but reached new heights in the lead-up to Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness , with rumors circulating that the Mission: Impossible star would be playing “Supreme Iron Man” in the mind-bending MCU movie. A lot of the speculation came from a scene in the movie’s trailer that showed Stephen Strange ( Benedict Cumberbatch ) being escorted by Ultron sentries, which fans believed could only be built by Tony Stark. Those rumors were squashed by screenwriter Michael Waldron in a May 2022 Rolling Stone interview where he revealed that this was never the case:

Yeah, that was totally made up. I mean, there’s no cut footage of Tom Cruise! But I love Tom Cruise, and I said to [Marvel Studios president] Kevin [Feige] at one point, I was like, 'Could we get Tom Cruise’s Iron Man?' I remember reading about that in Ain’t It Cool News back in the day, that Tom Cruise was going to be Iron Man.

Though he knew Tom Cruise’s Supreme Iron Man would not be making an appearance in the movie, it’s easy to see that Waldron was excited even thinking about the prospect of the character showing up.

Hayley Atwell and Tom Cruise speeding dangerously in a Fiat in Mission:Impossible - Dead Reckoning Part One.

Tom Cruise’s MCU Debut Wasn’t An Option Because Of Availability

In the Rolling Stone interview mentioned above, Michael Waldron was asked if anyone pitched the idea to Tom Cruise in the early development stages, to which he replied by saying Tom Cruise was shooting Mission: Impossible — Dead Reckoning Part One and Part Two at the time, which made the whole situation tricky:

I don’t believe so. I just don’t think it was ever an option, because of availability.

With Cruise’s schedule being all out of whack with the various Mission: Impossible movies and the May 2022 release of Top Gun : Maverick , it’s easy to see how getting him to show up for a brief cameo would have been a tall order.

Even though Tom Cruise has yet to show up as Iron Man, it doesn’t mean the prolific actor won’t make an appearance in some shape or form in one of the many upcoming Marvel movies . With the likes of John Krasinski, Patrick Stewart, and Ryan Reynolds having either already appeared or being slated to show up in the MCU at some point in the future, anything can happen, right?

Philip grew up in Louisiana (not New Orleans) before moving to St. Louis after graduating from Louisiana State University-Shreveport. When he's not writing about movies or television, Philip can be found being chased by his three kids, telling his dogs to stop barking at the mailman, or chatting about professional wrestling to his wife. Writing gigs with school newspapers, multiple daily newspapers, and other varied job experiences led him to this point where he actually gets to write about movies, shows, wrestling, and documentaries (which is a huge win in his eyes). If the stars properly align, he will talk about For Love Of The Game being the best baseball movie of all time.

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Doctor Strange Multiverse of Madness Tom Cruise Iron Man

Cameos, cameos, cameos. That is what everyone seems to be talking about now that Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness has hit theater screens worldwide. The Multiversal epic is finally here after years in the works and is already making a petty penny at the box office. Directed by Sam Raimi (of Spider-Man and Evil Dead fame) , this sequel blended elements of horrors into the MCU for the first time, as the Scarlet Witch unleashed her fury across realities.

WARNING: The rest of this article contains spoilers for Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness .

However, in the lead-up to the film much was made about the potential for Multiversal cameos in Multiverse of Madness . It was teased that Patrick Stewart would be back reprising his X-Men role as Charles Xavier (aka Professor X), but that only felt like a drop in the bucket when it came to the potential for these surprises.

One name that was thrown around by fans before release was Tom Cruise as a potential Tony Stark variant. Cruise was in the running to play Stark back before Robert Downey Jr. was cast in 2008's Iron Man. This would have given the veteran actor the opportunity to finally play the character, albeit in a smaller cameo role.

Well, Cruise did not appear as the Superior Iron Man , and Marvel is finally speaking up about the rumors that engulfed Multiverse of Madness in its run to release.

Tom Cruise Considered for Multiverse of Madness

In an interview with Rolling Stone , Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness screenwriter Michael Waldron addressed the now-defunct rumors that Tom Cruise was supposed to appear in the film.

When asked about Cruise and fan speculation regarding the actor appearing in the sequel, he said "Yeah, that was totally made up." He said that he remembers talking to Marvel Studios head "Kevin [Feige] at one point" if they could "get Tom Cruise’s Iron Man," but nothing actually ever came of it:

"Yeah, that was totally made up. I mean, there’s no cut footage of Tom Cruise! But I love Tom Cruise, and I said to [Marvel Studios president] Kevin [Feige] at one point, I was like, Could we get Tom Cruise’s Iron Man? I remember reading about that in Ain’t It Cool News back in the day, that Tom Cruise was going to be Iron Man."

The screenwriter then went on to say how "cool" it would have been to have Cruise in the movie, but "he was shooting Mission Impossible 7 and 8 ." He clarified that bringing Cruise in was considered, but ultimately never happened "because of availability:"

Rolling Stone: "So to be totally clear, did anyone reach out to Tom Cruise?" Michael Waldron: "I don’t believe so. I just don’t think it was ever an option, because of availability."

Superior Iron Man will Have to Wait

As much as Patrick Stewart returning to the role of Charles Xavier seemed like a sure thing for Multiverse of Madness , so did Tom Cruise as some alternate version of Iron Man. Many even believed, what would ultimately turn out to be, Lashana Lynch's Captain Marvel seen in an early trailer in the film to be Tom Cruise in a suit of Iron Man armor .

As has been said before, Cruise was originally in talks to play Tony Stark back at the inception of the MCU, with the part eventually going to Robert Downey Jr. So this would have been a cool place for the actor to live out his Marvel dream. But it didn't happen.

And that is not to say it will never happen. With the Marvel Multiverse at play , anything seems possible. Only a week ago, it felt like a pipe dream to many that John Krasinski would actually ever show up on-screen as Reed Richards , and look what happened! So the Multiverse can work in mysterious ways. It just seems like this Cruise dream may be a little out of reach.

One has to remember just how packed this man's schedule is these days. Whether he is piloting fighter jets in the next Top Gun or saving the world as Ethan Hunt in the Mission Impossible franchise, it feels like Tom Cruise always has something on the go.

So if Marvel Studios is ever serious about getting the actor in on the MCU, they will have to either book him years in advance or wait until things slow down for him; although, that doesn't look like it is going to happen anytime soon.

The Tom Cruise-less Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness can be seen in theaters now.

Will Tom Cruise Appear In Doctor Strange 2? New Rumor Reveals What to Expect

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‘Multiverse of Madness’ Screenwriter Wanted Tom Cruise to Play An Alternate Iron Man

By Brian Hiatt

Brian Hiatt

Sometimes fans and creators actually manage to think alike. As screenwriter Michael Waldron ( Loki, Rick and Morty ) reveals in our in-depth, spoiler-heavy interview about the making of Dr. Strange in the Multiverse of Madness , before MCU followers started speculating online that Tom Cruise would appear in the film as an alternate-world version of Iron Man, Waldron had the very same idea. The writer also discussed some of the film’s more controversial moments, and much more. (Again: this interview is full of spoilers; click away if you haven’t yet seen Dr. Strange in the Multiverse of Madness .)

My favorite part of this movie was when you introduce the alternate-Earth heroes of the Illuminati — and then promptly have Wanda slaughter them, which freaked out some fans. Where did that idea come from? Yeah, that’s a blast. That’s probably my favorite sequence in the movie. The idea for that was not in my outline; I was writing the first draft and I guess I felt like, as I put it, the movie needed to get drunk. It felt like we’re at the point where I need to find the madness in the multiverse here. I had no idea: Would I be able to use these characters? Would this even be possible? But I knew with Sam [Raimi] that if we did it this way, it would be amazing. And so I wrote it in.

I was watching Aliens a lot as I was writing. Because just tonally this movie is a thriller and a [feature-length] chase. I just love how Aliens goes to great lengths to tell you how badass the space Marines are — and then they just get slaughtered. Then you are really scared of the Xenomorphs for the rest of that movie, and that’s what I wanted to accomplish with Wanda. At the end of that Illuminati sequence. I hope you were truly terrified of the Scarlet Witch. It’s been awesome being in the theater hearing the cheers, then the gasps and the groans. [ Laughs ] I mean, you know, people were feeling something at the movies. That’s good!

What was your thinking behind having Wanda Maximoff become a full-in villain in this movie, especially since it’s a bit of a change in course from WandaVision ? Well, first off, it’s true to who the comics’ version of the character is and what she does in the comics. It was always where Wanda was headed in the MCU, even as I inherited the movie. The question just became, when would it happen? Certainly, there was a version of this movie where Wanda was part of the ensemble that ended, I guess, with her turning bad, and then she could have been an antagonist of another movie. But I feel like in that case, you would have had a watered-down version of Wanda going bad because it’s still Dr. Strange’s movie. She wouldn’t be the protagonist, and she wouldn’t really be the antagonist. You’d have to have a [different] antagonist throughout the entirety of most of the film.

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You know, she’s doing bad stuff throughout WandaVision . She does make the heroic choice to let go of all those people. But it’s also revealed to her that the family she’s built is not real. Then she gets the Darkhold at the end of the series and learns that there is a real version of her children out there. And if you’ve got the Book of the Damned whispering in your ear long enough that your kids are out there and you could go get ’em, maybe that can push you to do some terrible things.

What factors were involved in figuring out who would be in the Illuminati? The final lineup in that group is beyond my wildest dreams of who we could get — and then dispatch. [ Laughs ] I never dreamed we’d be able to do that. But the lineup is close to, I think, who was originally in my first draft, which was: “Okay, I know it can’t actually be this.” And then it ended up being close to that. It was just a moving target of who’s available and who’s right. It became, “All right, if you’re putting together an Illuminati, who would actually need to be in it?” You’d have people with certain power sets. And we tried to be true to what kind of characters were represented in the Illuminati in the comics.

Fans were totally right about Patrick Stewart appearing as an alternate Professor X, but totally wrong about Tom Cruise — who had once been slated to star as Iron Man years before Robert Downey Jr. — showing up as an alternate Iron Man. Did the fans just totally make up the Tom Cruise thing? Yeah, that was totally made up. I mean, there’s no cut footage of Tom Cruise! But I love Tom Cruise, and I said to [Marvel Studios president] Kevin [Feige] at one point, I was like, Could we get Tom Cruise’s Iron Man? I remember reading about that in Ain’t It Cool News back in the day, that Tom Cruise was going to be Iron Man.

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Possible Leaked Image From Dr Strange in the Multiverse of Madness Set Shows Tom Cruise As Iron Man

Get ready for the multiverse to explode with the doctor strange sequel..

It seems like the Marvel Cinematic Universe is ready to explore the multiverse in the craziest way possible with the upcoming Doctor Strange sequel.

Following the events of Spider-Man: No Way Home , which featured (HUMONGOUS SPOILER ALERT) other live-action iterations of Peter Parker, played by Andrew Garfield and Tobey Maguire, it seems like the MCU’s next movie in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness might take it a step further with an insane cameo.

(Rumor) Possibly the first image of Tom Cruise on set #DoctorStrange2 in (Motion Capture) for his Iron Man pic.twitter.com/nlvjj7sBAm — Moth Culture (@Moth_Culture) January 18, 2022

Recently, some set photos of the Doctor Strange sequel surfaced online, featuring none other than legendary Hollywood actor Tom Cruise. In these photos, Cruise is seen wearing a motion capture suit, and according to many rumors online, it seems like he will play a variant of Tony Stark aka Iron Man.

As of right now, fans might want to take these leaks with a grain of salt. However, the last time a set photo of a massive cameo in the MCU surfaced online, it was none other than Andrew Garfield shooting for Spider-Man: No Way Home.

@CDisillusion When are you talking about the Andrew Garfield leaked footage and no way home trailer... I want to know if it's fake or not 🤔 pic.twitter.com/o8jItPesAh — Vinay (@_vinay_y_) November 25, 2021

Before the release of No Way Home, Andrew Garfield refuted the theories about his appearance in the movie, while doing press for his Netflix movie, Tick, Tick... Boom!

However, since the movie came out, Garfield has been quite vocal about his decision to lie, while also revealing interesting tidbits about shooting with the other Spideys in Tom Holland and Tobey Maguire.

Over the past few months, a ton of potential leaks have swirled around the internet, regarding the plot of Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. These leaks have suggested many potential plotlines involving the Darkhold, America Chavez and many more.

However, the big rumors that have been quite popular on platforms like Reddit talked about the various cameos made by actors who have played live-action Marvel characters outside the MCU. These leaks have stated the potential return of many X-Men characters like Sir Patrick Stewart’s Charles Xavier to Ioan Gruffudd’s Reed Richards.

However, Tom Cruise as Iron Man might be the biggest leak to have shown up so far with set photos as proof. With Cruise’s blockbuster movie Top Gun: Maverick set to arrive just a few days after the release of the Doctor Strange sequel, it looks like the popular Hollywood actor is about to receive the Andrew Garfield treatment, as he will be bombarded with questions about these set photos.

Before Robert Downey Jr. took up the mantle of Iron Man and kick-started the MCU back in 2008, Tom Cruise was reportedly approached to play the iconic role. At the time, the actor refused to don the suit of armor, however if the rumors are indeed true then, it seems like life has come full circle for both Marvel and Cruise, and fans can’t wait to see Hollywood’s biggest action star in the most popular movie franchise of all time.

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Doctor Strange 2’s mysterious multiverse council has sparked Illuminati theories

Where Professor X, Tom Cruise, and the Fantastic Four align in Marvel

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doctor strange standing in a doorway with christine palmer and america chavez standing behind him

Marvel fans are spinning up their speculation engines today, after hearing a voice that sounded so very much like Sir Patrick Stewart in Sunday night’s Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness Super Bowl trailer.

The new Marvel movie will see Stephen Strange dragged before some kind of mysterious tribunal, and those in the comic book-know already think they know whose butts go in those seven chairs: the Illuminati.

But not that Illuminati. The Marvel one that involves everyone from Professor X to Iron Man.

Who are Marvel’s Illuminati?

Doctor Strange, Mister Fantastic, Iron Man, Professor Xavier, Black Bolt, and Namor — the Illuminati — sit around a table in New Avengers #7 (2005).

The Illuminati were created by writer Brian Michael Bendis and artist Steve McNiven in the pages of New Avengers , but they were most active during writer Jonathan Hickman’s tenure on the Avengers, which eventually culminated in Secret Wars , possibly the best regarded Marvel Comics crossover of all time.

In the Marvel Comics universe, the Illuminati is what it’s purported to be in the real world, but with a superhero spin: a covert cabal of the most powerful superheroes on Earth who assemble to assert their own wills on the planet’s problems. In the Marvel Universe context, “most powerful” doesn’t mean the physically strongest, but rather intellectual and political power.

Members of the Illuminati typically break down as Earth’s greatest minds (Mister Fantastic and Tony Stark) and superheroic leaders of nations (mutant figurehead Charles Xavier and actual sitting monarchs like Black Panther, Namor the Submariner, and Black Bolt of the Inhumans). Doctor Strange, as Earth’s Sorcerer Supreme, also usually gets a seat at the table, while other members have included Beast of the X-Men (after the Professor’s death), and Captain America (who was voted out and mind-wiped after he swore to expose their unethical choices).

The comics history makes an Illuminati cameo in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness so titillating for Marvel fans: This could be the way into the Marvel Cinematic Universe for Professor X and Mister Fantastic. Patrick Stewart played Charles Xavier in the 2000s-era X-Men movies, and any hint that Marvel Studios might have finally pulled the trigger on putting the X-Men into the MCU is going to raise eyebrows.

And though a central Marvel Comics property, the Fantastic Four have never found much success on the big screen. Marvel Studios is currently working on a Fantastic Four movie with Spider-Man: No Way Home director Jon Watts , but little is known about it. If Mister Fantastic were to appear in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness , it would be the first appearance of a Fantastic Four character in the MCU.

Do the Illuminati usually judge people like Doctor Strange?

X-Men: Days of Future Past - young Charles Xavier (James McAvoy) meets old Charles Xavier (Patrick Stewart)

Not really, no. After all, dragging people before your secret cabal for judgment would mean it wasn’t so secret anymore. If the Illuminati think you’ve done something so wrong they need to do something about it, they’ll just pull strings in the background, like when they fired the Hulk into space .

Are we sure that it’s the Illuminati in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness?

Nope — right now it’s just a sturdy theory. That said, it doesn’t seem likely that Marvel would make the first introduction of Professor X and Mister Fantastic to the Marvel Cinematic Universe in brief cameos in a Doctor Strange sequel.

With Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness and Loki sharing the same writer, it probably shouldn’t come as a surprise that the two stories appear to have a lot of parallels. Doctor Strange and Loki are both hopping through alternate interpretations of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, whether through time travel or the multiverse. Both seem to be facing off against variant versions of themselves , and part of the story involves them being cuffed and brought before a cosmic court.

The seven figures on those chairs could be any number of ideas. They could even be seven Doctor Strange variants — if Loki’s variants could be played by actors like Richard E. Grant , it stands to reason that Stephen Strange’s could be played by Patrick Stewart.

But fans are still enjoyable speculating about the idea of a full Illuminati lineup. Actors from all kinds of superhero vaporware projects are trending as fans chew on rumors and dredge up old fan-castings, like John Krasinski (a fan favorite casting choice for a “good” Fantastic Four movie, and once in the consideration to play Captain America), or Tom Cruise as a Variant Iron Man .

Is it possible that Marvel could have pulled all the strings to make this happen? Sure. But even if the studio did, it wouldn’t necessarily mean that these characters would be representative of Professor X or Mister Fantastic going forward.

For example, despite a frenzy of speculation about how Evan Peters could be reprising his role as the mutant Quicksilver in WandaVision , his character didn’t turn out to be from Fox’s X-Men continuity at all. He was an ordinary citizen of Westview, New Jersey who Agatha Harkness ensorcelled into believing he was a reborn version of Pietro created by Wanda’s magic.

Marvel Studios has shown that it’s perfectly comfortable playing around with the fanbase’s knowledge of the metatextual mess of the company’s film licenses — without actually making good on fans’ wildest crossover dreams.

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Tom Cruise is coming to Marvel’s MCU, according to a top insider

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Tom Cruise and Iron Man started trending on Twitter after Marvel released the second Doctor Strange 2 trailer . The clip reveals two big Multiverse of Madness cameos, including one that could be a variant of Iron Man from a different reality. This Iron Man is one who has often been associated with Tom Cruise in MCU leaks.

Before we proceed, we’ll warn you that big spoilers might follow below .

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The No Way Home precedent

But Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness is something else. This will be a multiverse movie that will feature a ton of cameos, two of which Marvel just confirmed. That’s Patrick Stewart’s Professor X and a new Captain Marvel variant.

Marvel seems ready to confirm some of the surprises in an effort to protect the others. And it’s likely that many of these cameos will not have roles as significant as Maguire and Garfield in No Way Home . Whatever the case, Doctor Strange 2 will feature a lot more cameos than No Way Home , so it’s easy for the studio to give fans some morsels of content while promoting the movie.

Why fans want Tom Cruise to be Iron Man

Marvel originally wanted Cruise to play Iron Man in the early days of the MCU. Needless to say, the studio ended up going in a different direction. It’s all thanks to Robert Downey Jr. that the MCU thrived on the back of Iron Man. RDJ transformed the character into one of the most loved superheroes out there. But it only happened because Tom Cruise passed on the role.

“Not with me, no … They came to me at a certain point and, when I do something, I wanna do it right. If I commit to something, it has to be done in a way that I know it’s gonna be something special. And as it was lining up, it just didn’t feel to me like it was gonna work. I need to be able to make decisions and make the film as great as it can be, and it just didn’t go down that road that way.”

While most Tom Cruise rumors concern an Iron Man cameo in Doctor Strange 2 , the actor might play someone else in the MCU. And it’s unclear when it’ll happen.

The MCU’s Tom Cruise plot twist

YouTuber and Marvel insider Grace Randolph discussed the new Doctor Strange 2 trailer on Twitter, saying that someone in the industry “posed an interesting, knowing question:” What if Tom Cruise ISN’T playing Tony Stark in the MCU?

Hmmm, someone I know in the industry posed an interesting, knowing question to me today… 😉 What if Tom Cruise ISN’T playing Tony Stark in the #MCU ? Who do you think he could be? pic.twitter.com/5VdTZFGT4S — Grace Randolph (@GraceRandolph) February 14, 2022

In a reply that followed, Randolph said that she is “confident” Tom Cruise is in the MCU. But she isn’t sure where he will appear or which character he might play.

I am confident he is in the MCU – I am not sure where he will appear or as who — Grace Randolph (@GraceRandolph) February 14, 2022

Regardless of whether or not we see Tom Cruise in Multiverse of Madness , he might appear in the MCU down the road as a different character. That’s certainly an exciting development.

The tweets above followed a separate tweet from Randolph. She made it clear that the mysterious superhero in the new Doctor Strange 2 trailer is not Cruise’s Iron Man.

It’s driving me crazy to see people insisting this is Tom Crusie as Iron Man 😩 A) MULTIPLE scoopers & journalists including myself are telling u it’s Maria Rambeau B) Like #MCU would give away Cruise in a vague trailer tease Let’s focus on how cool Maria is, okay? 🔥 pic.twitter.com/HXaMSAy4Xc — Grace Randolph (@GraceRandolph) February 14, 2022

Separately, rumors do say that RDJ might also cameo in Doctor Strange 2 . As much as fans might want to see Cruise in the Iron Man armor, they still prefer the real thing.

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Chris Smith has been covering consumer electronics ever since the iPhone revolutionized the industry in 2008. When he’s not writing about the most recent tech news for BGR, he brings his entertainment expertise to Marvel’s Cinematic Universe and other blockbuster franchises.

Outside of work, you’ll catch him streaming almost every new movie and TV show release as soon as it's available.

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Marvel Studios Still Hopes To Enlist Tom Cruise As Superior Iron Man In Future Multiverse Project

Following rumors about Tom Cruise suiting up as a "Superior" Iron Man in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness , it's said Marvel Studios is keen to enlist the Mission: Impossible star in that role.

Similar to what's happening with Deadpool 3 (no, Taron Egerton isn't playing a Wolverine Variant), there were an awful lot of rumours doing the rounds about Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness prior to its release.

Among them was the possibility Tom Cruise had been tapped to play the Superior Iron Man, a villainous version of Tony Stark aligned with the Illuminati.

Unfortunately, the Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning Part One star was nowhere to be seen, with it later reported that he either passed on the role or was unable to appear in the MCU sequel due to scheduling conflicts/COVID restrictions. The door, however, may be open for a future appearance.

According to a reliable social media scooper, Marvel Studios is still planning to have Cruise play Iron Man in a future Multiverse project. We'd bet on it being either Avengers: The Kang Dynasty or Avengers: Secret Wars and see no reason the actor would turn down the role.

After all, Kevin Feige probably just needs to woo him with the offer of a dangerous stunt!

In all seriousness, this would be awesome to see, especially after years of stories about how he very nearly played Tony Stark before Robert Downey Jr. Having Iron Man show up to save the day, only to reveal Cruise's twisted Stark would be a memorable moment in a movie that's sure to be full of them.

Don't forget, it's previously been reported that the next Avengers movies will feature a villainous Iron Man Variant attempting to destroy Earth-616 before an Incursion takes place which destroys his reality. That might be the role Cruise is being eyed for.

Stay tuned for updates.

Like many, Tom Cruise as Superior Iron Man was one of my favorite rumors. He would’ve nailed that version of Tony. I heard they’re still planning on using him some time in the future… 👀 https://t.co/uCk9hdLI2o pic.twitter.com/0bxA0eCIRm — CanWeGetSomeToast (@CanWeGetToast) August 12, 2023

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Marvel clears the air about Tom Cruise’s Iron Man in Doctor Strange 2: ‘There’s no cut footage…’

Doctor strange in the multiverse of madness included several cameos in the aftermath of the opening up of the multiverse. even tom cruise was expected to appear as superior iron man. but, not everything happened as per fans' expectations..

Marvel Studios is known for keeping its plot secrets safe till the film’s release. And its latest Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness was no different. With the opening up of multiverse and its adverse impact on the MCU timeline being at the centre of things, much was expected to unfold in the superhero movie, including several characters travelling across universes. One such expectation was the Superior Iron Man and the rumoured appearance of actor Tom Cruise playing the part.

Now, that the Benedict Cumberbatch-Elizabeth Olsen starrer is out, we have our doubts cleared.

Spoilers ahead

Much like Spider-Man: No Way Home, that opened doors for the three iterations of the web-slinging superhero (Tobey Maguire, Andrew Garfield and Tom Holland), fans expected different variants of Doctor Strange to come around (Defender Strange, Sinister Strange, Zombie Strange and Strange Supreme). We also got Patrick Stewart returning as Charles Xavier or Professor X from the X-Men movies, along with the Illuminati comprising of Mordo Supreme, Black Bolt, Captain Marvel, Captain Carter and Reed Richards.

Prior to the release, there were high hopes from Superior Iron Man too. That’s because of the appearance of a mysterious character in the film’s trailers that travels like a beam of light in a face off against Wanda. Fans were quick to call him Tom Cruise ‘s Superior Iron Man.

Tom Cruise, doctor strange in the multiverse of madness

But, now that we know it was Lashana Lynch as Captain Marvel, and not Tom’s Iron Man, screenwriter Michael Waldron opened up about the fan theories and rumours. He told Rolling Stone, “Yeah, that was totally made up. I mean there’s no cut footage of Tom Cruise! But I love Tom Cruise, and I said to (Marvel Studios president) Kevin (Feige) at one point, I was like, Could we get Tom Cruise’s Iron Man? I remember reading about that in Ain’t It Cool News back in the day, that Tom Cruise was going to be Iron Man.”

For the unversed, Tom Cruise was in the running to play Tony Stark during the casting of Iron Man (2008). This was even before Robert Downey Jr. was zeroed down. So, if Tom had actually donned the Iron suit, it would’ve been an emotional throwback for fans from Marvel’s inception days. According to the comics, Superior Iron Man is an evil version of the Iron Man that we saw RDJ donning.

Michael Waldron further revealed that Tom Cruise was indeed being considered, but things did not fall in place due to the actor’s “availability.” He said it would’ve been “cool” to have Tom in Doctor Strange 2, but “he was shooting Mission Impossible 7 and 8”. According to Rolling Stone, Michael said “bringing Cruise in was considered, but ultimately never happened because of availability”.

With America Chavez entering MCU, getting the alternate version of Iron Man in future Marvel films, doesn’t seem a far-flung dream now. Essayed by actor Xochitl Gomez, America Chavez is a teenage superhero who can travel between different dimensions on a whim, by punching open doorways.

Click for more updates and latest Hollywood News along with Bollywood and Entertainment updates . Also get latest news and top headlines from India and around the World at The Indian Express .

Doctor Strange

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Here's how 'Iron Man' built the modern Marvel Cinematic Universe in 5 phases

Inside the trial-and-error process that resulted in the 2008 blockbuster directed by jon farvreau and starring robert downey jr..

Oops! Something went wrong. Please try again later. More content below

In the summer of 2008, Iron Man made Marvel Studios believe that the idea of an interconnected cinematic universe could fly. Fifteen years and five phases (and counting) later, the nascent company's big bet on an unfamiliar hero, an untested director and an unlikely star has reaped rewards many times over. Although it wasn't the biggest comic book-based hit of 2008 — that honor goes to Christopher Nolan's The Dark Knight — Iron Man finished a strong second in terms of domestic box-office grosses and first in the hearts of audiences hungry for new costumed avengers as opposed to variations on previously adapted characters.

" Iron Man is a paradigm example of risk rewarded," Ben Saunders, Director of the Comics Studies Minor at the University of Oregon, tells Yahoo Entertainment. "Everyone involved took a bit of a gamble — and boy, did it pay off."

That Marvel's gamble worked is even more impressive when you peer under the hood of Iron Man and realize how much trial and error, not to mention good old-fashioned luck, followed the movie right up until it premiered in theaters on May 2, 2008. With no real infrastructure in place, producer Kevin Feige and director Jon Favreau were inventing and re-inventing the production on the fly, throwing out whole storylines, experimenting with effects and allowing improvisation to craft many of the scenes that would ultimately make the movie soar.

On a DVD bonus feature, Favreau compared the process to making a "small indie art film" in superhero clothing, and author Tara Bennett says that served as the model for many of the Marvel films that came after, up to and including James Gunn's Guardians of the Galaxy trilogy, which concludes with the just-released Vol. 3 . "They were kind of fumbling their way forward as a studio," notes Bennett, who spent four years inside the Marvel machine with Paul Terry to co-author the 2021 bestseller The Story of Marvel Studios: The Making of the Marvel Cinematic Universe . "Not in terms of not knowing what they were doing, but just trusting their gut. Every step was a proof concept and Iron Man was their North Star."

To mark 15 years since Robert Downey Jr. headed into his lab as entitled warmonger Tony Stark and emerged for his maiden flight as the invincible Iron Man, we're recapping the five phases of the film that laid the cornerstone for the Marvel Cinematic Universe . Call it the "Anniversary Initiative."

Phase 1: Holding out for a hero

Why did Marvel Studios bet the house on Iron Man as their inaugural hero? Easy answer: "It wasn't so much that he was the right choice, but that he was the only choice," says Saunders. Thanks to previous movie licensing deals approved by Marvel Comics, the publisher's most popular characters — including Spider-Man, the X-Men and the Incredible Hulk — were all tied up with rival studios. That left Marvel's still-young film arm, which had been founded in 1996, with a bevy of B-tier characters like Captain America, Thor and Black Widow to headline its first self-financed production as part of a multi-picture distribution deal with Paramount.

Of course, all of these heroes are now household names, but in 2008 they came with additional hurdles for a studio on a limited budget. "Captain America was risky because you'd have to create a period piece, and Thor would have been expensive in order to create a persuasive vision of Asgard," Saunders explains. "So Iron Man became the choice by default, because he was based in our world meaning that no expensive alternate environments needed to be created. He's also a technologically-enhanced millionaire, so the threshold of disbelief is fairly low. We already live in a world of miraculous gadgets so it's not as big a leap as accepting the reality of a Norse God."

For the record, Marvel Studios wasn't the first company to think that an Iron Man movie could be a hit. Created in 1963 by a team of Marvel Comics mainstays, the character's film rights had already changed hands many times — from Universal in 1990 to 20th Century Fox in 1996 to New Line Cinemas in 1999 — by the time he flew back into the Marvel vault. Along the way, he had attracted the attention of such established stars as Nicolas Cage and Tom Cruise, who stuck with the project for years as it cycled through such potential directors as Quentin Tarantino and Joss Whedon. And if you have a hard time seeing Pete "Maverick" Mitchell as Tony Stark, you're not alone.

"There's no doubt that they were better off [without Tom Cruise]," says Syracuse University professor and pop culture expert Kendall Phillips. "Tom Cruise would have brought too much star status to the role. Whatever movie he's in — whether it's Minority Report or Mission: Impossible — it's Tom Cruise. And we had to care about Tony Stark."

"Everybody knows that Tom can do the larger-than-life kind of part that the role required," adds Bennett. "But if you put Tom's face in the suit, there's more of a Maverick kind of feel to it. There's also the chemistry-tempering with the other characters that helps make Tony who Tony is. And would Tom have had the same kind of rapport with his co-stars?"

Cruise was long gone by the time Favreau started seeing actors to play his version of Tony, and Bennett says that the filmmaker ultimately made a choice between two starkly different performers: Timothy Olyphant and Robert Downey Jr. (Appearing on Conan O'Brien's TBS talk show in 2015, the Justified star confirmed that he and Downey auditioned for the film on the same day.)

"Robert had a softer and more comedic element to him, plus there's that self-esteem mixed with vulnerability that he puts into Tony," she says of the two finalists for the role. "If Timothy had done it, it probably would have had a more laconic feel that would have taken some of the edge off of the character's uncertainty. I think all three of them — Tom, Timothy and Robert — would have done something really interesting with the character. But you can't imagine anyone other than Robert now; he's so important to the role."

At the time, Downey's widely publicized substance abuse troubles and career setbacks led to raised eyebrows — including among Marvel execs — about his viability as a leading man. But all that personal baggage actually worked in Tony Stark's favor. "His willingness to play Tony as a work in progress — flawed and impulsive, and capable of being self-regarding even after resolving to do better — is a huge part of what makes his version of Iron Man someone with whom we can identity," says Saunders. "In fact, his Tony Stark is surely one of the most consequential cinematic performances of the early 21st century. No hyberbole: Marvel Studios changed the logic [of comic book movies], and I'm not sure any of that would have happened without him as Iron Man."

Phase 2: Some assembly required

Iron Man went before cameras in March 2007 for a 74-day shoot that started with the opening sequence of the film — Tony's capture in Afghanistan by the Ten Rings terrorist group and eventual escape in the bulky first version of his soon-to-be-iconic armor. While that's the origin of his transformation from profiteer to do-gooder, it's arguably not the true birth of Iron Man. That moment is saved for midway through the film when Tony heads to his lab and assembles the flight-enabled Mark II suit through a series of breakthroughs and mishaps that builds to a glorious lift-off.

In behind the scenes footage included on the Iron Man DVD, Favreau seems keenly aware that the Mark II sequence is the movie's make-or-break moment, comparing it to Tobey Maguire's early attempts to spin webs in Sam Raimi's inaugural Spider-Man outing. Going back even further, it's also comparable to the helicopter rescue in Richard Donner's Superman: The Movie where Christopher Reeve really makes you believe he's leaping a tall building in a single bound.

As far as Paul Terry is concerned, that's a big mission accomplished. "When I saw Iron Man , I genuinely believed that was Robert Downey Jr. doing that test flight," the Making of Marvel Studios co-author says. "Any sort of superhero film that's saying to the audience, 'This human being is going to be flying,' you have to absolutely nail that. But what I also love about that scene is that it's establishing the fantastical element of a guy in an amazingly high-tech suit, while still keeping it grounded. You have to believe what you're watching."

Phillips says the Mark II sequence was also one of the earliest signs that Marvel Studios would be following the Marvel Comics playbook of allowing its superheroes to be super-fallible. "These are heroes who can fail and who can mess up," he observes. "My favorite moment in that sequence is when Tony ends up falling on a car after flying and the alarm is going off and everything's in chaos. It's like, 'Oh, maybe he's not such a genius after all.'"

"I've always thought that the biggest contrast between Marvel and DC is that DC heroes are gods," Phillips continues. "There's no way that Superman can have foibles — he's not gonna mess up, because he's always Superman. The Marvel heroes are much more flawed, whether it's Peter Parker juggling his classes or Tony Stark trying to manage his business. That's what connects us as the audience to them: Even if these heroes aren't entirely like us, they are flawed like us."

For the record, Bennett points to a no-flights, no-iron tights scene that she thinks is just as crucial to Iron Man 's success: an extended sequence where Pepper Potts (Gwnyeth Paltrow) literally makes Tony's heart stop while doing some impromptu upgrades on his circulatory system. Speaking of impromptu, that scene was almost entirely improvised by Paltrow and Downey, and that contributes to the charged emotions between the pair, who go on to embody #CoupleGoals for the MCU.

"You're watching the two of them just riff with each other, and creating these little moments of gold," Bennett says. "While writing the book, Jon reiterated to us that they needed to show the vulnerability between Pepper and Tony and that scene just executed it perfectly."

"It's a real important thing," Bennett emphasizes. "There's so much bravado to Tony, so Jon had to establish in the first movie that there was this magical chemistry between Pepper and Tony that gave us another look at who he was. Pepper dials into the humanity of him and makes him someone that you want to watch. Pepper cares about Tony so we care about Tony. We want him to be OK, too."

Phase 3: Courting the fans... and creating new ones

These days, Marvel Studios presentations are the toast of San Diego's world-famous Comic-Con International, with one star after another trotting out to the cheers of the crowd. Marvel's trip to Comic-Con in 2007 — weeks after Iron Man wrapped principal photography, but well before the effects were finished — was a considerably smaller affair. Favreau and Feige were in attendance, along with Downey, Paltrow and Terrence Howard, who briefly played Tony's pal James "War Machine" Rhodes before a salary dispute concluded with him being replaced by Don Cheadle going forward.

Bennett was in the audience for that presentation, and remembers the audience being split between those who knew the characters and those — like herself — who were thinking, "What is an Iron Man?" And the filmmakers notably tried to play to both crowds, with Favreau emphasizing the movie's live-wire comic energy, while Feige teased potential connections to other Marvel characters. "They did a really good job cold-launching the movie," she recalls now. "Walking out, I talked to friends of mine who were longtime Marvel Comics readers and then just general pop culture fans. They teased just enough to make us all go, 'Let me go see that movie.'"

Away from the bright lights of Comic-Con, Paramount and Marvel focused the bulk of their energy on appealing to the "What is an Iron Man?" crowd. The film's trailers and marketing materials gave no hint that audiences were signing up for an entire cinematic universe — just a story about a quick-witted billionaire inventor and his tricked-out suit. But not, you know, that Bat-suited billionaire that moviegoers were more familiar with. "Audiences had seen that there was a dark Chris Nolan Batman movie coming out, and this was the brighter, shinier version," Phillips says of Marvel's initial pitch.

In fact, Favreau had tidied up the movie's narrative to make it even easier for non-Marvel Zombies to hop aboard. Originally, Iron Man was supposed to feature two villains — Tony's right-hand man at Stark Industries, Obadiah Stain (Jeff Bridges), and the Mandarin, who longtime Marvel Comics readers would recognize as a frequent arch-nemesis on the level of the Joker or Lex Luthor.

Prior to production, though, Favreau decided to focus solely on Obadiah's transformation into the Iron Monger, and the Mandarin's introduction was scrapped entirely, although a few Easter eggs remain in the finished film that hint at his presence. (Ben Kingsley's impostor Mandarin made his bow in Iron Man 3 , followed by the genuine article — played by Tony Leung — in Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings .)

For a former Iron Man newbie like Bennett, that's a prime example of why it's smart for comic book movies to sometimes dodge the fan-service bullet. "Including the Mandarin would have serviced the comic book lovers, but they had to go way beyond that to get the experiment of Marvel Studios to work. Now, we've got all this mythology stitched together in our heads, but at that point there was nothing to stitch together! And the Mandarin ended up being used in a much smarter way down the line, so it was a smart call to pull back instead of going 'We need this to be bigger.'"

"It also allowed Iron Man to offer this really interesting and simple look at oppositional characters," adds Terry. "Tony discovers this nefarious secret in his business that he didn't know about and that builds to the Iron Man vs. Iron Monger battle. That's your story, and your human drama. If you don't have great human drama, then what do you have for audiences? You just have characters with different power sets blasting things."

Phase 4: Save the best for last

Once upon a time, moviegoers headed for the exits as soon as the "Directed by" credit hit the screen. But Iron Man trained audiences to stick around until the "Special Thanks" have scrolled by, not just for Marvel movies, but any major blockbuster with cinematic universe ambitions. On Feige's initiative, that's where Favreau buried his movie's one major bit of fan service: a brief cameo by Samuel L. Jackson as Marvel Comics mainstay Nick Fury, who informs Tony — and everyone in the theater — that they're about to enter a "bigger universe" via the yet-to-be explained "Avengers Initiative."

"At the 2007 Comic-Con, people asked, 'Is it all connected?' and Kevin said, 'Yes,'" Bennett says of how that pivotal moment came together. "That scene was his promise fulfilled. The attitude in those early days was, 'Let's just take a swing and if we fail, we fail, but it gives us a lot of runway if we're successful.' Jon didn't 100 percent understand it, but as a group they decided, 'Let's do it.'"

And Saunders points out that Feige had a back-up plan in case Iron Man failed to launch at the 2008 box office. Later that summer, Marvel Studios would be releasing The Incredible Hulk through Universal, which had unsuccessfully tried to launch a Hulk franchise five years earlier on the backs of Eric Bana and Ang Lee . But the character had a larger pop culture profile than Tony Stark thanks to the vintage '70s TV series and his presence in multiple Marvel animated series.

"The Hulk looked like the safer bet from a brand recognition point of view," Saunders explains. "For Iron Man , there was no equivalent and it was smart of the Marvel Studios not to put all their eggs in one basket even if we now regard the Iron Man movie more highly than The Incredible Hulk ."

Like Iron Man , The Incredible Hulk concluded with a Feige-approved post-credits scene that featured Downey in Tony Stark mode teasing the ongoing formation of Fury's super-team, who would officially assemble four years and three movies later in The Avengers . "You have Tony confirming to the fans that these two movies are connected," Terry says. "It was an additional risk to do that. If they don't do that, Iron Man feels like a closed-off story."

"And it still wasn't guaranteed!" he adds. "In a different version of reality, it may not have led to The Avengers . It may not have been possible to do any of those later films. They're hinting at something that's unresolved, telling you that there's a whole other chapter coming over the horizon. And the world clearly went, 'We want to see the next chapter.'"

Phase 5: Do we need an Iron Man?

Tony Stark's solo adventures ended with 2013's Iron Man 3 , and that trilogy-capper paved the way for Downey's exit from the universe he helped launch. But Marvel Studios couldn't completely turn away from their North Star, even while populating the MCU with new terrestrial and intergalactic heroes, from Star-Lord and Thor to Black Panther and Spider-Man.

As the company constructed the "Infinity Saga" across three phases of films, Tony Stark served as the story's dramatic linchpin, to the point where the climax of Avengers: Endgame explicitly calls back the last scene of Iron Man . Staring Thanos — and death — in the face, Tony repeats the 2008's movie's final line: "I am Iron Man."

"That arc of Tony going from self-centered narcissist to a person willing to sacrifice himself because it's the right thing to do is the hero's arc that holds up Book 1 of the Marvel Cinematic Universe," Phillips says of those bookended moments. "That's why audiences cared and shed tears in the movie theater — they had seen the character go that far."

With the book closed on Tony Stark, the big question facing the next phase(s) of the MCU is whether an existing or new hero needs to step up and serve as the central spoke that the next years-spanning tale — which Feige has already labeled the "Multiverse Saga" — can revolve around. Phillips, for one, thinks that the recent creative and commercial disappointment of Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania points to these sagas needing to lean on characters that audiences are fully invested in.

"We're with Scott Lang and then within 10 minutes we're launched into this roller-coaster adventure, and I don't know if we've built up enough love for Scott Lang to care," he notes, adding that Brie Larson's Captain Marvel is the most logical candidate to take over Iron Man's place. "I think Brie Larson is great in that role, but Captain Marvel also has the Superman problem at this point in that she's so overwhelmingly powerful. She's not going to get up after a beating and say, ' I can do this all day ,' like Captain America did. So far, I'm not seeing that character who's going to carry the heart of the MCU."

Saunders, on the other hand, says he's reaping lots of rewards out of the MCU's more fractured post- Endgame landscape. " WandaVision was an utterly brilliant allegory about how we process grief; I loved the plot twist in Eternals ; the Black Widow movie was at least as good as any James Bond movie that I've seen; and the last Doctor Strange movie was superb and visually stunning," he says. "I know there’s a loud minority who love to complain, but I don’t think that the quality of work produced by Marvel Studios has declined at all. If anything, it’s better — more consistent, and with fewer errors."

Now that they're no longer embedded within Marvel, Bennett and Terry obviously aren't privy to whether the studio does indeed have another Iron Man waiting in the wings. But as audience members, the last thing they'd want is for the MCU to tell the same story again. "If they decided to pick a character to build Phase 4 and 5 around, we'd all just say, 'You already did that with Tony,'" Bennett says. "There's something to be said for them not wanting to repeat Iron Man . They're not just resting on their laurels: This is all about the alchemy about what happens when you try and succeed or don't succeed."

Iron Man is currently streaming on Disney+.

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Tom Cruise Was Suggested to Play Iron Man in 'Doctor Strange 2' After Fan Theories, Writer Says

"As it was being talked about online, I was like, 'Yeah, that'd be cool!' " said Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness screenwriter Michael Waldron

Tom Cruise almost suited up as Iron Man.

The Top Gun: Maverick actor, 59, was at one point pitched to play a variant of Tony Stark, aka Iron Man, in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness , screenwriter Michael Waldron revealed to Rolling Stone . The new Marvel movie explores alternate realities with vastly different versions of the Avengers than audiences have come to know (plus some surprise cameos along the way).

Cruise became an internet rumor as fans suspected he'd appear as the character made famous by Robert Downey Jr., who first played the superhero in 2008's Iron Man , which kicked off the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

Waldron, however, tried to make the fan theory come to fruition.

"Yeah, that was totally made up. I mean, there's no cut footage of Tom Cruise ," he said of the online rumors. "But I love Tom Cruise , and I said to [Marvel Studios president] Kevin [Feige] at one point, I was like, 'Could we get Tom Cruise 's Iron Man?' I remember reading about that in Ain't It Cool News back in the day, that Tom Cruise was going to be Iron Man."

He added, "As it was being talked about online, I was like, 'Yeah, that'd be cool!'

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Waldron clarified that he doesn't believe Cruise was ever reached out to, likely because it seemed too far out of reach to pull off given the Mission: Impossible star's busy schedule: "I just don't think it was ever an option, because of availability."

Back in 2005, Cruise told IGN about being approached to play Iron Man for the MCU at the time (the first Iron Man came out in 2008) and why it didn't pan out. "They came to me at a certain point and, when I do something, I wanna do it right. If I commit to something, it has to be done in a way that I know it's gonna be something special. And as it was lining up, it just didn't feel to me like it was gonna work. I need to be able to make decisions and make the film as great as it can be, and it just didn't go down that road that way."

Directed by Sam Raimi, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness stars Benedict Cumberbatch, Elizabeth Olsen, Rachel McAdams, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Benedict Wong and Xochitl Gomez.

The film earned $185 million at the domestic box office during its opening weekend, according to Variety , making it the biggest debut of a movie so far this year, beating out Robert Pattinson's The Batman , which opened to $134 million.

Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness is now in theaters.

Armor Wars: Tom Cruise stuns as Iron Man in jaw-dropping “first look” clip

By michael patterson | may 31, 2023.

US actor Tom Cruise arrives for the 95th Annual Oscars Nominees Luncheon at the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Beverly Hills, California, on February 13, 2023. (Photo by Chris Delmas / AFP) (Photo by CHRIS DELMAS/AFP via Getty Images)

Marvel fans have been talking about the possibility of Tom Cruise taking on the role of Iron Man in MCU conversations for over a year now, and this amazing video highlights why.

Tom Cruise has been at the center of a lot of legendary movies in his career. He is still leading the Mission Impossible movies after two decades (the next of which comes out this summer) and the long-awaited Top Gun sequel, Top Gun: Maverick , which made history at the box office last year, grossing an unbelievable $1.5 billion.

However, could we ever see him appear in a Marvel Cinematic Universe movie? That’s a question Marvel fans spent a lot of last year asking, specifically as there were plenty of rumors that suggested he would. And with Marvel Studios exploring their Multiverse Saga, fans have been wondering if he will finally play the role of an alternate Iron Man in any of the saga’s upcoming films or TV shows.

That’s something one YouTube user has decided to bring to life using some incredibly convincing technology, imagining what it would look like if Tom Cruise portrayed Tony Stark in upcoming film Armor Wars . Starring Don Cheadle, that film will see James “Rhodey” Rhodes attempt to recover some of his late best friend’s stolen technology when it falls into the wrong hands.

This awesome fan video gives us a chance to see what Cruise would look like if he appeared in the movie as Tony Stark.

Tom Cruise becomes Iron Man in Armor Wars concept video

YouTube user StryderHD has produced many convincing videos in recent years. Those videos usually consist of taking one actor’s likeness and digitally placing it over another through the use of Deepfake technology, bringing a lot of dream fan-casts to life in a video.

This one, titled a “First Look” clip, imagines what Tom Cruise might look like if he were to appear in the upcoming Armor Wars movie, which is all about Tony Stark’s legacy. Using footage from the first Iron Man movie (and very first MCU movie), the video replaces Robert Downey Jr.’s Tony Stark with Tom Cruise.

What makes this one even more impressive is how the voice has also been altered so that the lines of dialogue sound more like Cruise than Downey Jr.

Will Tom Cruise appear in the MCU as Iron Man?

The rumors of Tom Cruise’s arrival in the MCU all all began last year in the build up to Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness , when it was speculated that he could appear as a variant of Tony Stark, a.k.a. Iron Man. It wouldn’t be the same Stark as Robert Downey Jr.’s version. No this rumor suggested that Cruise would play the more antagonistic Superior Iron Man from the comics.

This ultimately did not happen, but it hasn’t stopped the speculation that Cruise could turn up in the MCU as an alternate version of Stark at some point in time. And there’s an irony in there because he nearly played the role in 2008’s Iron Man before RDJ was ultimately cast in the role.

If Cruise does appear in the MCU in the future, it likely won’t be in Armor Wars . That movie is all about the legacy of the MCU’s main Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.), so unless the multiversal theme plays into what appears to be a more grounded project, we shouldn’t expect to see him in that one.

But with Marvel Studios exploring the Multiverse Saga, we will likely see more variants of many beloved Marvel heroes. And there’s always the chance that Cruise could be among them as Iron Man. Anything can happen in the MCU!

Armor Wars updates

Revealed during Disney Investor Day 2020, Armor Wars was initially planned as a six-part TV series for Disney Plus with Don Cheadle set to return as James “Rhodey” Rhodes, reprising the role he has played for nearly 15 years in the MCU movies. However, it was subsequently announced that it would evolve into a theatrical movie instead. It’s unknown what sparked the change, but fans hoping to see War Machine shine certainly wouldn’t argue with Rhodey finally getting his feature length film.

The film is expected to be a sequel to the events of Secret Invasion and Ironheart , with the character attempting to preserve the legacy of Tony Stark when Iron Man’s tech falls into the wrong hands. Cheadle recently spoke to Entertainment Weekly about the movie, teasing fans with what they can expect:

"“The fun part about it is that we’re going to continue to explore Rhodey and — in some ways for the first time — get to see what makes him tick,” Cheadle explains. “We understand his physical challenges, but we haven’t really yet dug into a lot of his emotional and psychological [challenges].”"

Marvel Studios has yet to announce a release window for the movie, but we can theorize based on what the current Phase 5 and 6 slates look like. The former is stacked, with releases confirmed for all of it, meaning that Armor Wars will probably fall into Phase 6. Currently, Fantastic Four is the first movie of Phase 6 with a November 2024 release date, so the earliest we could expect Armor Wars would be 2025.

If it does remain part of the Multiverse Saga, there is always a chance we could see Cruise pop up as an alternate Iron Man. Wouldn’t that be something?!

Next. All 32 MCU films ranked from worst to best. dark

5 Marvel Characters We'd Love To See Tom Cruise Play

Tom Cruise as Ethan Hunt in Mission Impossible III (2006)

Tom Cruise as Superior Iron Man? That's what everyone thought would happen when "Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness" revealed its first official trailer .

A glimpse of several multiversal characters gave fans hope –- that we would finally see Tom Cruise suit up as a version of Iron Man we had never seen before. Back in 2008, Cruise almost appeared as the now-iconic Marvel hero. That's right, he was in the running for "Iron Man" long before Robert Downey Jr. was in the picture.

And a "Doctor Strange 2" cameo would have finally seen Cruise clinch the role.

Unfortunately, rumors of his casting were greatly exaggerated ... and it turned out we wouldn't get a Tom Cruise Iron Man after all.

"As you saw in Spider-Man: No Way Home, some rumors ended up being true, some did not," said "Multiverse of Madness" producer Richie Palmer . "I would love to see Tony again, but some rumors are just rumors."

Although Cruise has played plenty of heroic characters throughout his career, he's never quite landed a superhero role ... and it sounds as though he's not too interested at this point, either:

"Look, I really enjoy those films a lot. I enjoy them. But I make the Missions and Reacher. Just different kind of films."

Whether or not Cruise will eventually give in and suit up remains to be seen ... but we've got some ideas about which Marvel character he should play.

Spider-Man has one of the best rogue's galleries in comic book history , with the likes of Dock Ock, Electro, and Lizard regularly squaring off against our friendly neighborhood Spider-Man. But what about some of his lesser-known adversaries?

A classic Spider-Man villain, Chameleon hasn't been seen on the big screen ... yet. And if you ask me, it would be a great role for Cruise.

Chameleon (aka Dmitri Smerdyakov) first appeared in The Amazing Spider-Man #1 back in 1963 and has since appeared alongside some of Spider-Man's heaviest hitters as part of the Sinister Six. He's a master of disguise and half-brother of Kraven the Hunter ... but more importantly, he's renowned for his ability to act like just about any other comic book character, regularly taking on the appearance of heroes and villains alike.

Exactly the kind of role that would really stretch Cruise's acting abilities.

Interestingly, when de-masked, he still appears in his very own "Vanilla Sky" style mask, giving Cruise something to work with after his role in the off-kilter sci-fi flick. After all, his particular brand of acting beneath a mask went down rather well.

Unfortunately, the chances of Cruise appearing as Chameleon are extremely slim.

Although Chameleon is set to appear in the upcoming "Kraven the Hunter" film, the role was recently cast with Fred Hechinger becoming the classic Spidey villain. I just can't help thinking that Tom Cruise would have been perfect for it.

After tearing open the multiverse in "Spider-Man: No Way Home," it looks as though Doctor Strange has opened the Marvel Cinematic Universe to infinite possibilities — and one of the most intriguing is the arrival of the "X-Men."

"Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness" sees Professor X return as one of the Illuminati, so surely it won't be long before the rest of Marvel's iconic mutants follow him into the MCU, right? It's certainly not a big stretch, and with alternate versions of those classic comic book characters on the table, we've already recommended Joaquin Phoenix for the role of Wolverine .

But what about Cyclops?

The long-time X-Men leader was previously played by James Marsden in the original "X-Men" movies and was recast as Tye Sheridan in "X-Men: Apocalypse." Born Scott Summers, Cyclops has the unique ability to fire laser beams from his eyes. His clean-cut image has made Cyclops something of a foil for Wolverine in both the movies and comic books, and so it's easy to see a clean-cut actor like Cruise suiting up as the iconic superhero.

There were rumors that Cyclops would return in "Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness" but they ultimately didn't pan out. Either way, it's unlikely that Cruise would have been up for it. Still, it's an interesting thought to put Cruise behind the visor.

Even if there's a character close to Cyclops that could prove even cooler.

Introduced in "The Uncanny X-Men" #104 in 1977, Corsair is a swashbuckling pilot and leader of the Starjammers –- a "Guardians of the Galaxy" style team of cosmic heroes with a penchant for pirate-themed costumes.

And while "Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3" has already wrapped, it could have been the perfect place for a little Tom Cruise cameo.

Corsair has no superhuman powers — he's more of a Peter Quill figure, swashbuckling his way around the galaxy with a team of friends and heroes at his side. Oh, and he's also the father of X-Men's Cyclops ... not to mention Havok and the supervillain Vulcan.

Why would Corsair be a great fit for Cruise?

Well, for one thing, Corsair may not have any superpowers, but he's an incredible pilot of both terrestrial and Shi'ar aircraft and spacecraft. An excuse to clamber back into a cockpit could be the perfect way to heighten Cruise's interest in the MCU –- especially after his recent turn in "Top Gun: Maverick."

Of course, Corsair has also teamed up with Captain Marvel in the past ... and a cameo in her upcoming sequel might well make a great addition. There's also plenty of opportunity to bring Corsair into the mix via the X-Men's eventual appearance.

If indeed that's ever going to happen .

But there are plenty of other Marvel characters who would be a great fit for Cruise.

I know, I know. Samuel L. Jackson is fantastic as the current incarnation of Fury. But what if the multiverse introduced another one?

We've seen a more traditional Nick Fury before, in the much-derided 1998 film "Nick Fury: Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D." starring none other than David Hasselhoff as the infamous Marvel spymaster. Now, what if Cruise donned the infamous eyepatch?

He's certainly got the look of an old-school Nick Fury, made even better with a little age and a good cigar. Equally, Cruise's time in the IMF in the "Mission: Impossible" movies makes him the perfect all-action hero to take on a classic action-led spy thriller set within the MCU.

The only problem is where that might fit in. Samuel L. Jackson is already heading up "Secret Invasion" –- the upcoming Disney Plus series which sees Jackson reprise the role of Nick Fury as the former S.H.I.E.L.D. leader takes on the shape-shifting Skrulls. Sure to be packed full of intrigue and subterfuge, it's likely that's the closest we're going to get to an MCU spy thriller for some time.

So, it's unlikely there's room for Tom Cruise to appear as Fury ... unless the shape-shifting Skrulls have a sense of humor.

Of course, there's one more Marvel hero who might suit Cruise a little better.

Robert Downey Jr. is Iron Man, but that wasn't always the case. Before his 2008 debut, Marvel actually wanted Tom Cruise for the role. Thankfully, director Jon Favreau was super keen on casting Downey Jr. after a phenomenal screen test.

And after fighting for his leading man, Iron Man was born.

Since then, Cruise has been reluctant to take on a superhero role, instead focussing on the "Mission: Impossible" series alongside his other projects.

But with Superior Iron Man rumored for "Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness," it looked as though he might finally have his chance to become Tony Stark.

Unfortunately, the rumors were just that –- there was no way Cruise was ever going to be in the film . Screenwriter Michael Waldren cleared it up :

"Yeah, that was totally made up. I mean, there's no cut footage of Tom Cruise! But I love Tom Cruise, and I said to [Marvel Studios president] Kevin [Feige] at one point, I was like, Could we get Tom Cruise's Iron Man? I remember reading about that in Ain't It Cool News back in the day, that Tom Cruise was going to be Iron Man."

Although Walden admitted he pushed for a Tom Cruise cameo after being impressed by the fan's casting, it just wasn't going to happen. After all, Cruise was busy filming "Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One."

But it's still an absolutely perfect bit of casting.

It's no secret that Cruise is one of the last big action heroes in Hollywood and suiting up as Marvel's flagship hero makes sense. The fact that Superior Iron Man is a twisted version of Tony Stark is a nice touch -– especially considering Cruise's history with the role.

Whether or not Cruise would be game is another matter entirely. After all, it's likely that he's simply done with the role and wouldn't even consider it. But with the multiverse burst wide open, it's still a possibility. Tom Cruise starring as Iron Man? It wouldn't be the worst thing we've caught him doing.

Who Is Zack Snyder's Favorite Superhero? It's Not Who You Expect

Zack Snyder's favorite superhero is somewhat controversial and does not fit the traditional superhero mold.
Snyder admires Marvel heroes, too, naming The Hulk and Iron Man as his favorites outside the DC realm, showing his appreciation for both comic book universes.
Despite his controversial films, Snyder's comfort in the superhero cinema space is rooted in his career adapting comic properties.

Love his work or hate it (there doesn't seem to be a middle ground), Zack Snyder is comfortable in the superhero cinema space. And that's logical, considering he's made a career out of adapting comic properties. First, there was 300 , then the underrated Watchmen (of which even Christopher Nolan calls himself a fan ), then DCEU projects Man of Steel , Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice , and Zack Snyder's Justice League .

Heck, even his other projects can feel like slow-motion-loving adaptations of graphic novels. This includes the likes of Sucker Punch and Army of the Dead as well as the cosmic two-parter of Rebel Moon – Part One: A Child of Fire and Rebel Moon – Part Two: The Scargiver . So, given his familiarity with the subgenre and obvious affinity for the characters within (even if some might argue that point when it comes to Superman), does Snyder have a favorite superhero? He does, and it's not the Man of Steel .

Who Is Zack Snyder's Favorite 'Superhero'?

Back when he and Ben Affleck were leading a 2020 DC FanDome panel promoting Zack Snyder's Justice League , Snyder was asked for the identity of his favorite superhero of all time. His reply: Watchmen 's Dr. Manhattan. But is Dr. Manhattan really a superhero ? Whether it is Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons' source material or Snyder's own cinematic adaptation, the short answer is no.

But it does show that he favors all-powerful heroes. Not only did he go to great lengths to convey that substantial power in his film, but he kicked off the ill-fated DCEU with Man of Steel . And unless he's sacrificing himself as he did in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice , that latter character is also essentially all-powerful.

Zack Snyder Reveals Tom Cruise Wanted to Play a Hero in Watchmen, But I Wanted Tom Cruise for Ozymandias

So, what did Snyder say exactly? First, he specified that the character would have to be a part of the "DC world" before revealing that " It's gotta be Doctor Manhattan from Watchmen ." He then elaborated on the choice, stating, "...for me, he's like this super cool, quantum superhero." What exactly appeals to Snyder about Manhattan? His ability to manipulate "time, space [and] reality."

Those seem like superpowers, no? Well, Doctor Manhattan certainly has the super part down pat, so why isn't he immediately lumped in with other superheroes such as Captain America, Superman, or even his Watchmen peers Silk Spectre II and Nite Owl II? Because, like his Watchmen peers Rorschach and The Comedian, he's a bit too complex for the term hero to apply .

Why Isn't Dr. Manhattan a Superhero?

Release Date March 4, 2009

Director Zack Snyder

Cast Jackie Earle Haley, Malin Akerman, Matthew Goode, Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Patrick Wilson, Billy Crudup

Runtime 163

Main Genre Action

He may not be as intermittently vicious as The Comedian, but he's certainly as cold-hearted . After all, he explodes a litany of enemy soldiers with a wave of his hand, and his expression never changes. In other words, when physicist Jon Osterman suffered his accident and received powers, he also found himself extricated from society both physically (for a time) and mentally.

Now, Dr. Manhattan did show both sadness and anger when his former friend and lover were brought in front of him stricken with cancer. Yet, when the film has a flashback to the Vietnam War , and the Comedian murders an innocent, pregnant woman, Dr. Manhattan has the ability to stop her death. And, yet, as the Comedian points out, he chooses not to. With only his mind, he could make the bullet evaporate before it hits the woman, but he actively chooses not to .

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That's not very heroic, nor is it courageous to focus on his work solely for the sake of his love for science. He's not actively trying to prevent the worst-case scenario of the Cold War the same way he didn't actively attempt to save the Vietnamese woman's life. He's disconnected from even the core concept of humanity, which corroded what remains of his soul to the point that not even the slow demise of his relationship with Silk Spectre II seems to raise a blue eyebrow.

Zack Snyder Also Enjoys the Marvel Heroes

Did the DCEU pan out? Absolutely not, but there were bright spots. Yet, in general, it never quite rivaled Marvel's cinematic universe in terms of reviews, outstanding box office grosses , or fan appreciation. However, with the MCU on a fairly sharp decline (a course which, admittedly, looks to be corrected sooner rather than later) and James Gunn's DCU on the horizon, perhaps the tables could be turned in a major way.

But, considering Snyder himself hasn't touched Marvel thus far, is he a fan? As it turns out, he is an appreciator of both sides of the comic book coin, and when WIRED asked him to pick a favorite Marvel hero, he came up with two. In his words: "The Hulk has always been one of my favorites forever. And Iron Man." Few comics fans, cinephiles, or members of the general audience, even if they often find themselves bashing Snyder's output, could disagree with that particular pair of choices. Zack Snyder's Watchmen film, featuring his favorite 'superhero' Dr. Manhattan, is streaming on Max .

Who Is Zack Snyder's Favorite Superhero? It's Not Who You Expect

Tom Cruise Explains Why He Turned Down Role of Iron Man

Cruise apparently weighed playing a superhero who needed to suit up vs. one who doesn’t.

Actor Tom Cruise has long enjoyed a history of playing action heroes but never a superhero. Still, many of characters come across as indestructible to the point where they might as well be a superhero. Most recently, Cruise has revived his popular Ethan Hunt role in Mission Impossible franchise and is flying high with enormous box office success from Top Gun: Maverick . The soon-to-be 60-year-old star has revealed how he came close to playing Tony Stark’s Iron Man in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Of course, the part went to Robert Downey Jr. who made the character and its armored body his own.

Prior to the release of 2008’s Iron Man , Cruise was offered the opportunity to play Tony Stark but turned it down . He has opened up as to why he turned it down. As someone who has a reputation for thorough work, performing his own stunts, etc., one of the actor’s priorities appears to be wanting control over the project.

RELATED: Why Tom Cruise Would Still Be A Perfect Fit for Iron Man

Tom Cruise Proves He is Still Popular But Hasn't Ruled Out Superhero Films

Even Cruise admits that Downey has become so fused with Tony Stark that it is hard to imagine anyone else in the role. As for when he was first approached to star as Iron Man and why he declined the part, Cruise explained:

“[Marvel Studios] came to me at a certain time and, when I do something, I wanna do it right. If I commit to something, it has to be done in a way that I know it’s gonna be something special. And as it was lining up, it just didn’t feel to me like it was gonna work. I need to be able to make decisions and make the film as great as it can be, it just didn’t go down that road that way.”

In another interview, Cruise confessed he believes the role of Tony Stark was perfect for Robert Downey Jr. He said,

“Not close and I love Robert Downey Jr. I can’t imagine anyone else in that role and I think it’s perfect for him.”

When it comes to allowing fans seeing him play a superhero at some point in time, the actor does not rule it out but does say the project would have to meet his standards, stating:

“It's what’s the story? Does it interest me?”

Whether Cruise joins the MCU or DCEU remains to be seen. Meanwhile, the actor seems to enjoy playing a hero of the mission impossible kind.

How a Mission: Impossible Casting Choice Changed the Course of Marvel Movies Forever

A 'Mission: Impossible II' star was supposed to play a Marvel legend, but fate (and shooting schedules) intervened.

The Big Picture

Dougray Scott missed out on the role of Wolverine in X-Men due to Tom Cruise's refusal to let him film while still working on Mission: Impossible 2 .
Hugh Jackman's portrayal as Wolverine had a significant impact on the future of Marvel movies and the dominance of comic book adaptations in mainstream cinema.
The casting of Wolverine with Jackman instead of Scott played a pivotal role in shaping the film industry as we know it today.

The Marvel and Mission: Impossible movies are some of the most recognizable and long-running film franchises today. The Marvel movies, which include those from the Marvel Cinematic Universe as well as separate films made by 20th Century Fox and Sony, and the Tom Cruise -centered franchise famous for its life-or-death stunt choreography, show no signs of slowing down in financial viability or popularity. And bizarrely enough, at the dawn of the 21st century, these two franchises converged at a pivotal crossroads that altered the course of mainstream cinema for the foreseeable future.

Mission: Impossible II

IMF agent Ethan Hunt is sent to Sydney to find and destroy a genetically modified disease called "Chimera".

Hugh Jackman Wasn't the First Choice for Wolverine

For Mission: Impossible 2 , the John Woo -directed sequel to the original 1996 film, Dougray Scott was cast as the lead villain pitted against Cruise's Ethan Hunt. For Scott, a relatively unknown Scottish actor who previously appeared in Deep Impact and Ever After , getting the chance to perform elaborate combat scenes and stunts with Cruise was a huge break. In the film, he played Sean Ambrose, a rogue IMF agent in possession of a deadly virus and its remedy. The plot machinations and action sequences of the sequel are as ridiculous as we'd expect — even for a Mission: Impossible film — but this doesn't affect the great fortune benefited to Scott by being billed second in a notable summer 2000 blockbuster.

Things continued to fall in Scott's favor when he was cast as Wolverine in the upcoming X-Men film that would be released just following Mission: Impossible II . Initially, director Bryan Singer wanted to cast Russell Crowe as the famous mutant. Crowe, who was scheduled for an Oscar-winning turn in Gladiator , turned it down, but he recommended his close friend, the then-unknown Hugh Jackman , to Singer. However, Singer decided to go with Scott , who, with supporting roles in two massive summer films, was on the cusp of emerging as a household name. Until, that is, the epitome of bad luck arrived knocking at the door. The Mission: Impossible franchise has a history of troubled productions , script rewrites, and behind-the-scenes accidents. The second installment was no different. Action set pieces were created before a script was finished , according to screenwriter Robert Towne . In 2020, female lead Thandiwe Newton opened up about her unpleasant experience working on the film, recalling that she was "scared" of Cruise and his domineering attitude. The creative positions of these films are also frequently in a state of flux. Early into production, Oliver Stone was attached to direct Mission: Impossible II .

Amid a tense set and Cruise's demand for practical stunts that put himself in harm's way (seen in the film's famous opening scene where Hunt is free solo climbing), Mission: Impossible II fell behind schedule. To literally add insult to injury, Scott was inflicted with a shoulder injury during a shooting, putting his availability for X-Men in question. Because this was such a substantial project for Fox, they couldn't afford to waste time. Scott's commitment to Mission: Impossible 2 and on-set injury forced Singer and the studio to re-cast Wolverine. Scott was out, Jackman was in, and the rest is history. The Australian actor's stardom would be launched because of the role, and his tenure as the mutant with razor-sharp claws would last 17 years, appearing in numerous X-Men films and off-shoots, including the highly anticipated Deadpool & Wolverine .

Tom Cruise Wouldn't Let Scott Leave 'Mission: Impossible II'

Recently, Scott sat down with The Daily Telegraph in 2020 and revealed that none other than Cruise denied him from appearing in X-Men . "You’ve got to stay and finish the film," Scott recounts Cruise telling him. Despite promising he would finish Mission: Impossible II , Cruise would not let him begin shooting X-Men , according to Scott. "He was a very powerful guy. Other people were doing everything to make it work." It's unfortunately then that Scott has become synonymous with being on the wrong end of a casting "what if?" Though, at least publicly, Scott seems magnanimous about the state of affairs, stating in the Daily Telegraph interview that he respects what Jackman accomplished as Wolverine. "He's a lovely guy," he said.

While Jackman would become universally adored as Wolverine, Scott's portrayal as the villain in perhaps the most derided Mission: Impossible film faded away into obscurity. The domino effect of Scott's commitment to the film on the future of Marvel movies and cinema at large is immeasurable. Singer's X-Men movies were a hit both financially and critically — proving that films adapted from Marvel Comics could be legitimate and crowd-pleasing, and Jackman's presence was integral to their fabric. His Wolverine was granted three separate standalone films , including the highly acclaimed revisionist take on the superhero, Logan .

Wolverine's Re-Casting Made Hugh Jackman a Massive Star

It's impossible to theorize how well Scott would have done in the role of Wolverine, but his ability to reach the same heights that Jackman achieved feels implausible. Who's to say that the X-Men films land with the public in the same way if Scott was ultimately cast? By the nature of the butterfly effect, this could have shaken up the core of mainstream cinema, which is today dominated by comic book adaptations.

And while everyone thought Logan was the perfect send-off to Jackman's Wolverine, Jackman will be returning to the screen as the famed mutant in the upcoming Deadpool & Wolverine . As for Scott, his career never soared to the heights that Jackman has reached. He was a recurring star in Season 3 of Desperate Housewives , portrayed Arthur Miller in My Week with Marilyn , and starred in Taken 3 in the aftermath of Mission: Impossible II . His near miss as Wolverine emphasizes the amount luck can play in a Hollywood career. Jackman's portrayal as Wolverine is widely celebrated, making the image of the comic book character inseparable from the actor.

In addition to an accomplished Broadway career in his repertoire, Jackman's life was drastically altered due to Scott's injury or Tom Cruise's stubbornness — whichever one may be true. Without a captivating performance of a fan-favorite character in the X-Men universe, maybe there is no Spider-Man trilogy from Sam Raimi or maybe Robert Downey Jr. never signs with Marvel and ostensibly launches the MCU . In an alternate universe, without Jackman as Wolverine, the entire film industry could be unrecognizable, for better or worse.

Mission: Impossible II is available to watch on Prime Video and Paramount+ in the U.S.

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This 20-year-old tom cruise movie can lay the blueprint for his future after mission: impossible.

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10 Movies That Defined Tom Cruise's Career

Every michael mann movie, ranked worst to best, how emperor palpatine hid his yellow sith eyes from the jedi.

Tom Cruise's action star status faces a challenge as he ages, so exploring villain roles could be the key to his future success after Mission: Impossible .
A return to the character depth of his role in Collateral could provide Cruise with exciting new opportunities in his career.
Practical stunt work sets Cruise apart in action films, but taking on antagonistic roles could help him stay relevant in the industry.

Tom Cruise has been a movie star for over forty years, and one of his most underrated films could be the key to the next phase of his career after Mission: Impossible . Cruise, in his most recent star era, has become synonymous with daring stunt work and large action set pieces in his blockbuster films. The two most notable examples are his long-running Mission: Impossible franchise, which is currently filming its eighth installment, and Top Gun: Maverick , which was the highest-grossing film of 2022 .

In many ways, Cruise is as popular as he's ever been and remains one of the last examples of a true movie star. There's just one issue he faces, and it's one that will only get worse with time: he's now in his 60s. He's still in amazing shape for his age and can still perform all the stunts his action roles require of him. Yet, at a certain point, Cruise just won't be able to physically accomplish these feats anymore , and the question will arise of what he will do to define the next era of his career.

Tom Cruise's movies tell the story of his career, from action blockbusters like Mission Impossible to charming dramas like Jerry Maguire.

Tom Cruise Should Follow Collateral's Blueprint After Mission: Impossible

The answer regarding a future after Mission: Impossible lies with one of Cruise's most memorable roles as the cold-blooded hitman Vincent in Michael Mann's Collateral . Collateral follows a single night in the life of cab driver Max (Jamie Foxx), who is forced to transport Vincent around L.A. as he crosses off targets on his hit list. The film doesn't just feature excellent action scenes but also a fascinating back-and-forth between the two leads. Many long exchanges of dialogue happen within Max's cab, and the audience sees him and Vincent argue philosophically about the value of human life and their differing ideologies.

Cruise's movie star charisma brought layers of charm to Vincent's sociopathic demeanor

Cruise had to train for Collateral since it was an unexpected role, as the actor had never played the main villain of a film before, and to this day hasn't done it again since. The uniqueness of this notion paid off, as Collateral proved to be a healthy hit. It grossed $220 million worldwide from an estimated $65 million budget (via Box Office Mojo ). Cruise's movie star charisma brought layers of charm to Vincent's sociopathic demeanor, and it is still widely considered one of the best performances of Cruise's long and illustrious career. A return to this type of role would be an exciting prospect for the actor.

Michael Mann is one of the most prolific crime thriller directors ever, although as Ferreri demonstrates, he veers into other genres as well.

Villain Roles Can Help Tom Cruise Stay Relevant

As Cruise gets older, it'll become more challenging for him to remain at the center of these action franchises. Unlike films like Indiana Jones and The Dial of Destiny , which heavily relied on CGI to assist 81-year-old Harrison Ford with the action scenes, Cruise's movies use their practical stunt work as a selling point. Top Gun: Maverick had Cruise flying real jets , and Mission Impossible - Dead Reckoning Part One had him jumping off a massive cliff on a motorcycle. Too much CGI would cheapen the impact of these stunts, which have become a big part of Cruise's brand.

However, if Cruise takes on more antagonistic parts in movies like Collateral going forward, h e could not only avoid putting his body at risk in as many huge stunts but also access an untapped well of potential film roles . Cruise would still be a selling point in whatever franchise he chooses to be a part of, and he'd be able to explore the darkness he displayed as Vincent all those years ago. It'd be an exciting development for fans to witness, full of possibilities, and could prove to be the key to Tom Cruise staying relevant through the 2020s and beyond.

Source: Box Office Mojo

Collateral (2004)

Tom Cruise’s Kids: Everything to Know About His Mysterious Relationships With Connor, Isabella & Suri

Tom Cruise may be the biggest movie star, but he's also a family man! We've got all the details on Tom Cruise's relationships with his son Connor and daughters Isabella and Suri.

Tom Cruise is an iconic actor, but more importantly, he’s a father. The Top Gun star, who has been married three times , shares two adopted kids — Connor Cruise and Isabella ‘Bella’ Cruise — with his ex-wife, Academy Award-winning actress Nicole Kidman . He also has one biological child, a daughter named Suri with his other ex-wife, Katie Holmes .

Tom lives an extremely private life, despite being a major movie star. While he may hit the occasional red carpet if he has a movie premiering, the actor is rarely photographed anywhere else, or with his kids. Though, he does have a relationship with all three. Tom was most recently seen in a photo in December 2023 with his and Nicole’s children, Connor and Bella, after athlete Derrick Brooks shared a group shot to Instagram .

View this post on Instagram A post shared by Derrick Brooks (@officialdbrooks55)

Want to know more? Learn more about Tom’s family dynamic with his son and two daughters below.

Isabella Cruise

Tom and Nicole adopted Connor and Isabella during their decade-long marriage in the ’90s. Isabella, who was born on December 22, 1992, took a page out of her father’s book by adopting a lifestyle away from the spotlight, however, she recently resurfaced on her Instagram with a selfie on August 25, and fans went wild. The new photo came four months after she last shared a photo of her face online, so her followers were elated to see her sharing a new picture of herself.

The London-based artist owns a company with the title of her namesake, “Bella Kidman Cruise,” which sells phone cases, tote bags, and more. As far as her personal life is concerned, Bella married Max Parker , an IT consultant, in an intimate ceremony in London in September of 2015. Neither Bella’s nor Max’s parents attended, which led to speculation that she was estranged from her parents. Though, that was later proven not to be the case .

“Of course [we talk], they’re my parents. Anyone who says otherwise is full of sh-t,” Isabella told Daily Mail in March of 2016. When asked if it was hard not to have Tom walk Isabella down the aisle to give her away, Max admitted, “Yeah. It is what it is.” Isabella also has a good relationship with her mother, whose last name is included in her company’s name. And, she’s close with her brother, Connor, which is evidenced by various social media posts.

Isabella caused a slight stir in July 2021 when she and brother Connor both posted a selfie – a rare thing from these private kids – on the same day. Bella’s selfie was taken during the Euro Championship when England took on Denmark. “My face during extra time. Fingers crossed,” she captioned the shot. It clearly worked, as England prevailed. Earlier in the year, Bella posted another selfie – a black and white photo advertising prints in her shop. When Isabella shared a snap in September 2021 , fans thought she looked amazing.

Connor Cruise

Just like his sister, Connor, who was born on January 17, 1995, also enjoys living a private life. Though, he was very much in the spotlight in the past. Connor briefly followed in his parents’ footsteps and starred in two films — 2008’s Seven Pounds and 2012’s Red Dawn remake. The well-accomplished DJ eventually pursued his passion for deep-sea fishing, though, and now spends a lot of time in Clearwater, Florida, as seen on his Instagram page. Connor is very close with his sister, which was further proven by a cute throwback photo he shared to his Instagram in August 2019.

Connor appears to be quite close with his dad, too, as the two were most recently spotted together in October 2019. The father and son bonded over the actor’s love for helicopters, according to People — which reported that Tom took Connor on a chopper in London to show him “some aviation basics.” In 2012, Connor tweeted a black and white baby photo of himself, along with Isabella, in the arms of Tom.

While on a fishing trip in Costa Rica in February 2021, Connor showed off a catch that was almost bigger than him. “ Yellowfin were chewing today ,” he captioned the shot. He became an “ influencer ” in March of that year, launching the @connorsmeatshack IG account with his friend, Kim Joyce . The BBQ-themed account featured Connor’s love of grilling, and the man knows his way around a “rolled cap of ribeye and some lobstah tails,” as he put it . When the summer months rolled around, Connor decided to shave off his hair. “ New face, who dis? ” he captioned a June 8 IG story.

While on an August 2022 fishing trip with friends, Connor showed off his catch – a massive fish he hauled in from the ocean. In his most recent post, Connor revealed that he and his fishing buddies donated a large portion of their catch — “108 pounds of grouper” to be exact — to a charity. “I know it was tough to fit that in the truck but glad the fish was able to go and help those in need of it!!,” he wrote. Overall, Connor is enjoying a life of fishing, grilling, and living in the great outdoors.

Suri Cruise

Following his 2001 divorce from Nicole, Tom went on to marry Katie Holmes in 2006. They welcomed their only biological child, a daughter named Suri, that same year on April 18. Suri made her magazine debut on the October 2006 cover of Vanity Fair with her then-married parents. The accompanying photoshoot showed the family smiling while cuddled up together. Unfortunately, the trio didn’t have a happily ever after. Tom and Katie eventually divorced in 2012, and the actor has rarely been seen out with his daughter since the split. Believe it or not, one of their last photographs together was at Disneyland on January 25, 2012.

Tom’s relationship with Suri is a tumultuous one , multiple sources have expressed to Hollywood Life . “As challenging as things have become for him and his daughter, he still loves her,” an insider told us in April 2019. “Tom never intended to be estranged from his daughter when he decided to have a family with Katie, and he looks forward to repairing their relationship one day,” the source said. Tom and Katie have never spoken publicly about his estranged relationship with Suri. And it’s unclear when the actor and his now teenage daughter last saw one another. Suri resides with her mother in New York City, where she attends school.

While Tom and Suri’s relationship has remained strained, she has continued to have a positive connection with her mother. Suri and Katie are often seen together on the streets of New York City. Suri turned 18 in 2024.

The 30 Best Jokes and Craziest Moments From Tom Brady’s Netflix Roast, From Gronk Smashing Glasses to Gisele Divorce Puns

By Clayton Davis

Clayton Davis

Senior Awards Editor

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The 30 Best Jokes and Craziest Moments From Tom Brady’s Netflix Roast, From Gronk Smashing Glasses to Gisele Divorce Puns 3 days ago

INGLEWOOD, CALIFORNIA - MAY 05: (L-R) Kevin Hart and Tom Brady speak onstage during G.R.O.A.T The Greatest Roast Of All Time: Tom Brady for the Netflix is a Joke Festival at The Kia Forum on May 05, 2024 in Inglewood, California. (Photo by Matt Winkelmeyer/Getty Images for Netflix)

It was a long night for Tom Brady at his live Netflix comedy roast, as it was for the rest of us watching from home.

Starting with a bloody OJ Simpson jersey and ending with Brady smashing an iPhone on stage, the Netflix live event, “The Greatest Roast of All-Time: Tom Brady,” honored the seven-time Super Bowl champion. The modern-day legend faced his biggest challenge yet: being roasted by comedians and his former NFL teammates.

The QB took so many hits regarding his failed marriage to supermodel Gisele Bündchen, which was surprising in moments where it didn’t seem to let up for a single moment, bringing some of the evening’s biggest laughs. Nonetheless, the “joke of the night” came from the GOAT himself when addressing Kim Kardashian and referencing her ex-husband Kanye West: “I know Kim was terrified to be here tonight. Not because of this, but because her kids are at home with their dad.”

When Kardashian took the stage to toast Brady, she was met with an onslaught of audible boos, but host Kevin Hart came to her aid.

Part of Netflix Is a Joke Fest , “Greatest Roasts of All Time: Tom Brady” featured the former quarterback, known for his 20 seasons with the New England Patriots and three with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, taking humorous jabs from some of the biggest names in comedy. Hosted by Hart and roastmaster Jeff Ross, the event included Brady’s former teammates Julian Edelman, Rob Gronkowski and Drew Bledsoe, as well as stand-up comics Tom Segura, Nikki Glaser, Andrew Schulz, Bert Kreischer, Tony Hinchcliffe, Sam Jay and more.

“We’re here to roast the greatest quarterback of all time,” Hart quipped. “Oh, wait, Joe Montana’s here?”

Brady made a grand entrance onto a stage surrounded by his former teammates, exclaiming to the crowd, “Are you guys ready? It’s game time. Let’s go!”

VIP tables, occupied by Chelsea Handler, Jim Gaffigan, Shane Gillis and Netflix executives Ted Sarandos and Bela Bajaria, encircled the stage, adding to the star-studded atmosphere of the event.

Brady’s former teammate Gronkowski took the spotlight with the most peculiar moments of the night, delivering a sometimes incoherent barrage of jokes that culminated in smashing a glass on the stage, causing it to shatter and send shards flying onto nearby tables.

Here are some of the 30 best jokes and craziest moments from the special (in no particular order):

“This is where Jerry Buss laid his dick out. This was called the Fucking Forum.” – Kevin Hart
“Tom brought Boston with him tonight. I’ve never seen Inglewood so white. It looks like a Bruce Springsteen concert just let out. This used to be the home of the Lakers; now it’s the home of the Quakers.” – Kevin Hart
“It’s been two years since Tom has gotten divorced. And since then, Tom’s been fucking. Tom has been putting that two-inch tool to work. Tom has been fucking so much; his dick has gotten CTE.” — Kevin Hart
“You know who else fucked that coach? Gisele. She fucked that karate man…. eight karate classes a day, and she’s still a white belt?” — Kevin Hart
“Chelsea Handler is here… Speaking of Black dick, Kim is here tonight.”
“I’ve just come from hell. Aaron Hernandez says hello.” — Jeff Ross
“I had to dress like OJ because I’m about to kill this white bitch right here.” — Jeff Ross
“You really put the Jizz in Gisele.” — Jeff Ross
“I really wanted Kevin [Hart] to host because he already looks like a deflated football.” — Jeff Ross
“Surely, if Mark Twain were around today, he would call you a N…. a national treasure.” — Jeff Ross
“I love you, Dana; you’re like Michael Vick but with human beings.” — Jeff Ross
“We’re doing it Boston-style tonight. You know, it’s going to marathon, and somebody’s gonna bomb.” — Jeff Ross
“We wanted to roast you in Florida, but because of your governor, we wouldn’t have been able to call you gay.” — Jeff Ross
“Tom Brady. Five-time Super Bowl MVP, most career wins, most career touchdowns. You have seven rings — well, eight, now that Gisele gave hers back. The only thing dumber than saying yes to this roast was when you said, ‘Hey babe, you should try jiu-jitsu.’” — Nikki Glaser
“I’m the best decision your organization has ever made. Would you like a massage?”– Jeff Ross
“Why the fuck didn’t we cheat when I was there?” — Randy Moss
“The only difference between Tom Brady and Hitler is that Hitler stuck with his wife until the end.” — Tom Segura and Bert Kreischer
“I love your movies, or as I like to call them, short films.” — Nikki Glaser towards Kevin Hart
“Your ex-wife’s new boyfriend can kick your ass while eating hers.” — Nikki Glaser
“Tom also lost $30 million in crypto… Tom, how did you fall for that? Even Gronk was like, ‘Me know that’s not real money.” — Nikki Glaser
“That’s why Dana [White] is here, so you can learn how to fuck a Brazilian out of half their purse. Sorry, that was a Gisele quote” — Andrew Schulz
“Or, as I like to call him, Leonardo DiCaprio‘s ex-girlfriend’s ex-husband.” — Julian Edelman
“This stage has seen more trauma than a Kennedy on the campaign trail.” — Andrew Schulz
“ACL is the only injury Gronk can spell.” — Andrew Schulz
“Nikki, who wrote that? Where was that, your entire career?” — Tony Hinchcliffe
“Bert Kreischer is a king. He looks like the Tiger King, and the Liver King only ate Burger King and had a liver that looked like Martin Luther King, who got beat up by Rodney King.” — Tony Hinchcliffe
“Your Super Bowl ring is just like my strap-on; just because you put it on doesn’t mean it’s real.” — Sam Jay
“My kids now excuse themselves to the bathroom by saying I have to go take a Brady.” — Peyton Manning
“Despite everything we’ve seen here tonight, Gronk was actually useful on the field. Although the bar for Patriots tight ends was pretty low back then: block, catch, don’t murder.” — Tom Brady
“You retired, then you came back, and then you retired again. I mean, I get it, it’s hard to walk away from something that’s not your pregnant girlfriend.” — Nikki Glaser

Matt Donnelly contributed to this report.

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Doctor Strange 2’s mysterious multiverse council has sparked Illuminati theories

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Marvel Studios Still Hopes To Enlist Tom Cruise As Superior Iron Man In Future Multiverse Project

Following rumors about Tom Cruise suiting up as a "Superior" Iron Man in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness , it's said Marvel Studios is keen to enlist the Mission: Impossible star in that role.

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