Why Didn't Tom Cruise Play Iron Man? Kevin Feige Explains
After many years and numerous rumors about Tom Cruise's would-be appearance as Iron Man, Marvel Studios head Kevin Feige has decided to explain the reason why the Hollywood legend resigned.
The would-be involvement of Tom Cruise in the role of Iron Man is like with the existence of Yeti - no one has officially confirmed it, but most believe that something is up. And while we still have to rely solely on legends when it comes to the snow creature, the issue of Marvel Studios hiring the Hollywood star has finally been officially clarified.
In the recently released book titled MCU: The Reign of Marvel Studios it's revealed that as early as the 1990s, 20th Century Fox was working on a project about Iron Man, and Tom Cruise was "flirting with the idea of playing [Tony] Stark" (via Comic Book Movie).
In an interview with the authors, Marvel Studios head Kevin Feige explained that the star didn't don Iron Man's armor because of the salary. It turns out that the popular actor expected a pay that was beyond the studio's financial capabilities. At the time, Tony Stark was not as recognizable as other superheroes, so company representatives did not want to risk investing so much money in a franchise that did not guarantee success.
When, after many years, Marvel Studios eventually decided to bring the story of Iron Man to life, it still couldn't engage a top star (according to rumors, one of the candidates to portray the title role was Johnny Depp). So the final bet was on Robert Downey Jr, who, after numerous scandals, was just beginning to recover.
Despite the fact that the actor proved over the course of subsequent movies that he was made to play Tony Stark, Cruise's fans did not give up hope that their idol would finally appear in the MCU. The chance for his debut was seen by audiences in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. According to rumors circulating at the time, Cruise was to play one of the alternate versions of Stark from another dimension. However, these reports were dismissed by screenwriter Michael Waldron.
