Mission Impossible Star Tom Cruise Was 'Interested' in Starring as Iron Man, Before Movie Plans Changed

Wednesday creators Miles Millar and Al Gough person discussed their aboriginal enactment connected an Iron Man publication for Marvel — backmost erstwhile Mission Impossible prima Tom Cruise was "interested" successful the pb role.

Millar and Gough person a fig of superhero projects to their names, including Smallville and Spider-Man 2, and it was aft moving connected the second that Marvel Studios laminitis Avi Arad contacted the brace to inquire if they'd beryllium funny successful adapting Iron Man.

What happened adjacent astir led to a precise antithetic Marvel Cinematic Universe to the 1 we cognize today, with Cruise kicking disconnected the MCU due arsenic Tony Stark (and perchance besides becoming Doctor Doom!). But first, however, the brace needed to beryllium told who Iron Man really was.

"Avi Arad had travel to america aft Spider-Man 2," Gough recalled, speaking via the Happy Sad Confused podcast. "It was virtually [in] this tiny bureau connected Santa Monica Boulevard, down from Century City mall. They kept things precise thin and mean, truthful erstwhile you're sitting successful a room, it was virtually the 2 of us, Kevin [Feige] and Avi.

"'Guys, we've got different crown jewel – which is Iron Man,'" Millar said they were told.

"To beryllium honorable with you, I hadn't heard of Iron Man," Gough continued, "and Avi goes: 'Perfect, here's what helium is. He's a billionaire who sells weapons, he's got an intoxicant problem, and determination was an accident, present he's trying to marque it work, marque it better.' We thought, 'Oh, this is interesting, this is different, this isn't different teen superhero, aft Smallville and Spider-Man.' So we were like, okay."

At the time, Marvel was attempting to enactment with Lord of the Rings accumulation institution New Line Cinema connected the project, and Gough recalled the fateful gathering wherever everything began to autumn through.

"We did a draft, respective drafts," helium recalled. "We worked connected that for astir apt a year. And we went successful with Kevin and Avi, and I retrieve [New Line Cinema boss] Bob Shaye had work it. It's an absorbing happening with generations trying to inactive link with what a superhero is. [Shaye] got each tied up that Iron Man could fly, helium goes, 'Because Superman could fly, could helium leap from gathering to building?' We each benignant of walked retired of the gathering like, 'We don't deliberation this is going to hap here.'"

Marvel yet pressed connected with the thought for an Iron Man film, obtaining the rights to make the task itself and yet settling connected Robert Downey Jr. successful his present iconic-role arsenic the MCU's billionaire playboy philanthropist. After that point, though, Gough's publication was not moved forward, and the pair's engagement ceased.

"To Kevin and Ari's large credit, they got the quality backmost and they did the mentation which is fundamentally fantastic," Gough noted.

When asked who Marvel had initially wanted successful the film's relation during their tenure, the brace some attested to the workplace having been successful talks with Cruise.

"They wanted Tom Cruise, and I deliberation Tom Cruise was interested," Millar said.

Of course, this isn't the archetypal clip Cruise's sanction has been linked to the relation of Iron Man, earlier Downey Jr. yet won the part. Back successful 2012, Cruise told IGN that Marvel had approached him astir the role, but said it yet "just didn't consciousness to maine similar it was gonna work."

Fast guardant 2 decades and the casting inactive remains a taxable of speech for fans — capable that erstwhile Doctor Strange and the Multiverse of Madness introduced alternate beingness versions of Marvel heroes, a Tom Cruise variant of Iron Man was again discussed.

Doctor Strange writer Michael Waldron adjacent asked Kevin Feige astir the anticipation of a Tom Cruise cameo, but was told that Cruise's docket shooting Mission Impossible: Dead Reckoning had ruled him out.

Photo by John Phillips/Getty Images for Paramount Pictures.

Tom Phillips is IGN's News Editor. You tin scope Tom astatine [email protected] oregon find him connected Bluesky @tomphillipseg.bsky.social