Tom Cruise addresses rumor that he almost played Iron Man in the MCU

Over the years, the roster of the Marvel Cinematic Universe has grown more and more expansive, bringing in everyone from star comedians like Paul Rudd and Chris Pratt to veteran actors like William Hurt, Michael Douglas, Michelle Pfeiffer, Patrick Stewart, Charlize Theron and more.

One actor we’ve never seen in the MCU is Tom Cruise, despite plenty of fan enthusiasm. Rumors have swirled for years that Cruise might be entering the MCU as none other than Iron Man. They first started way back in 2008, when Cruise was considered for the role before Marvel eventually cast Robert Downey Jr. They surfaced again last year with the release of Doctor Strange and the Multiverse of Madness, owing to that movie’s world-hopping style which treated fans to new variants of established characters, like Hayley Atwell’s Captain Carter in place of Chris Evans’ Captain America or Lashana Lynch’s Captain Marvel variant.

Tom Cruise shoots down rumors he almost played Iron Man

Despite the rumors, Cruise still has yet to set foot in the MCU. But how close was he to ever becoming a part of the Avengers? According to a clip from an interview with the actor posted to the Phase Zero YouTube channel this week, “not close.”

"Not close. Not close. I love Robert Downey Jr. I can’t imagine anyone else playing this role and I think it’s perfect for him. 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."

So that seems to settle it. Despite any rumors, Cruise never really had designs on stepping into the role of Tony Stark. However, we do have to add one slight caveat to all this: despite being newly posted, this interview took place during the press run for Mission Impossible: Fallout, which was back in 2018 before Marvel really started cracking into the multiverse.

So hey, keep that hope for a Tom Cruise version of Superior Iron Man alive! Who knows what the future holds in the weird vastness of the multiverse?

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