The video, which features Tom Cruise as Iron Man, had fans celebrating Marvel Studios’ casting decisions.
It’s hard to imagine anyone other than Robert Downey Jr. as billionaire industrialist Tony Stark. The actor seems to have been born for this role. However, Downey Jr. wasn’t the only one Marvel Studios was considering at the time.
Tom Cruise once told IGN that he was asked to consider the role of Iron Man, but turned down the offer. This fact hasn’t been forgotten by Iron Man fans who, with the rise of the multiverse in the MCU, expected Tom Cruise to eventually play a version of Iron Man.
In fact, there was a fairly popular fan theory that we would get a chance to meet Tom Cruise’s Stark as a member of the Illuminati in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. What a hilarious Easter egg that would be! But Cruise seems to be sticking to his decision not to join the MCU, and that’s probably a good thing.
A short viral video released by YouTube channel stryder HD showed what Tony Stark would look like if played by Tom Cruise. The author used deepfake to recreate the scene from the first Iron Man. The video is titled IRON MAN 4 – First Look Trailer.
In the description, the author lamented the fact that Marvel could never produce the fourth part of the Iron Man franchise that fans wanted, and the death of Tony Stark at the end of Endgame made Iron Man 4 impossible. The author presented his idea for the fourth film plot based on the Iron Man story arc “Armor Wars”, which ran for seven issues.
In Armor Wars, Iron Man uses his technology to track down villains. But in his pursuit, Stark forgets how powerful his technology is and becomes ruthless. It leads to the conflict between Stark and Captain America, their fight, and ultimately Stark’s weak position with the Avengers.
Armor Wars might draw funny parallels to Captain America: Civil War. Steve Rogers and Tony Stark are on opposing sides again, but this time the outlaw is Stark. Such a film, specially released between Civil War and Infinity War, could give fans more time to say goodbye to both beloved characters.
While fans loved the idea for the now-impossible Iron Man 4, Tom Cruise’s face on Tony Stark received a much cooler reception. Fans agreed it was a blessing Cruise turned down the role and Robert Downey Jr. was cast in it.
“Why do I love Tom Cruise but don’t want him to play Tony Stark? Because RDJ’s portrayal of Stark was so good we can’t even imagine Iron Man without him,” one fan commented below the video.