Tom Cruise has been linked to the role of Tony Stark since the first Iron Man back in 2008, and is believed to have been one of the actors Marvel was looking at for to play the Armored Avenger prior to Robert Downey Jr. being cast.
Rumors persisted that Kevin Feige was eager to have the Hollywood megastar join the Marvel Cinematic Universe as a Tony Stark variant, and reports have claimed that Cruise was in talks to appear in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness before a scheduling conflict forced him to decline the offer.
Cruise has generally side-stepped questions about his potential involvement with the franchise, but did share the following response when asked how close he came to playing Stark in an interview with ComicBook.com last year.
“Not close. Not close. I love Robert Downey and I can’t imagine anyone else playing this role, and I think it’s perfect for him." However, he then added: “I look at a movie and think, you know, I don’t rule anything out. It’s what’s the story? What’s the character? Does it interest me? Do I feel this is what an audience would like to see me in? What can I learn? What can I contribute? That’s really how I look at things.”
With Downey Jr. set to return to the MCU as Doctor Doom, the door is open for another actor to step into the role of Tony Stark, and MTTSH believes that Marvel Studios is still eager to enlist Cruise to play an alternate universe take on Stark for the upcoming Avengers movies.
Nobody would blame Feige and co. for wanting one of the biggest actors on the planet to bring his star-power to the MCU, but that doesn't mean Cruise would necessarily have much interest.
Would you like to see Tom Cruise play an Iron Man variant? Let us know in the comments section down below.
Avengers: Doomsday arrives in theaters on May 1, 2026, followed by Avengers: Secret Wars on May 7, 2027. Both films will be directed by the Russo brothers, who also make their MCU return after helming Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Captain America: Civil War, Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame.
"Being able to create stories and explore characters within the Marvel Universe fulfilled a life-long dream of ours, and we discovered a powerful connection with audiences in each film that we made. We’re thrilled to collaborate once again with Kevin, Lou and the entire Marvel team to bring this epic adventure in storytelling to new and surprising places for both the fans and ourselves”, said The Russos in a statement after the SDCC panel.
Have another look at some photos Downey Jr. shared to Instagram after the big reveal below.