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.