‘Doctor Strange 2’: Why Tom Cruise Didn’t Appear as Iron Man
Marvel fans’ expectations for multiversal cameos in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness were very high. Some were disappointed with the lineup in the Marvel Cinematic Universe movie, especially because one of the most highly anticipated cameos turned out to just be a rumor. And alas, Tom Cruise never showed up as Iron Man in Doctor Strange 2.
Rumors claimed that Tom Cruise would play Iron Man in ‘Doctor Strange 2’
In the months leading up to the Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness premiere, rumors ran rampant on the internet regarding cameos, including Tom Cruise as Iron Man. It’s unclear how the speculation started, but many believed that the actor would appear in the MCU movie.
Cruise originally auditioned for the role of Iron Man in the 2000s. But as we all know, the part eventually went to the iconic Robert Downey Jr., and the rest is history.
Marvel fans thought that the actor would finally get to play Tony Stark in the MCU via the Doctor Strange sequel. However, when they saw the film in theaters, they were disappointed to see that Tom Cruise did not play Iron Man in the movie.
‘Doctor Strange 2’ writer explains why Tom Cruise didn’t appear as Iron Man in the film
During an interview with Rolling Stone, Doctor Strange 2 writer Michael Waldron addressed the Tom Cruise as Iron Man rumors.
“Yeah, that was totally made up,” he explained. “I mean, there’s no cut footage of Tom Cruise! But I love Tom Cruise, and I said to [Marvel Studios president] Kevin [Feige] at one point, I was like, ‘Could we get Tom Cruise’s Iron Man?’ I remember reading about that in Ain’t It Cool News back in the day, that Tom Cruise was going to be Iron Man. As it was being talked about online, I was like, ‘Yeah, that’d be cool!'”
However, a couple of things stood in their way of getting Cruise for the Doctor Strange sequel — Mission Impossible 7 and 8.
“I just don’t think it was ever an option because of availability,” Waldron admits.
From the get-go, Tom Cruise in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness was never an option.
Other cameos that didn’t make the cut
Aside from Tom Cruise as Iron Man, there were a couple of other missed cameos in Doctor Strange 2. Fans theorized that Tobey Maguire’s Spider-Man, Ryan Reynolds’ Deadpool, and Hugh Jackman’s Wolverine would appear. However, none of them did. According to Michael Waldron, though, Marvel got every cameo on their wishlist.
“The final lineup in [Illuminati] is beyond my wildest dreams of who we could get — and then dispatch,” the writer told Rolling Stone. “I never dreamed we’d be able to do that. But the lineup is close to, I think, who was originally in my first draft, which was: ‘Okay, I know it can’t actually be this.’ And then it ended up being close to that.”
Waldron continued, “It was just a moving target of who’s available and who’s right. It became, ‘Alright, if you’re putting together an Illuminati, who would actually need to be in it?’ You’d have people with certain power sets. And we tried to be true to what kind of characters were represented in the Illuminati in the comics.”
Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness is now playing in theaters.
