One of the greatest “what ifs” in Marvel Cinematic Universe history was the fact that Tom Cruise was almost cast as Tony Stark in the original Iron Man. Now, fifteen years out from the original film, Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige reveals why he was never cast.
Robert Downey Jr. has gone down in history with his portrayal of Tony Stark, becoming the face of the MCU for over a decade. However, before he was ever cast, actor Tom Cruise flirted with the idea of starring in Iron Man before stepping away from the project. According to Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige, his departure had to do with one thing: cold hard cash.
“Cruise’s asking fee at the time was more than even a profitable studio like Fox was willing to risk on an untested superhero property.” wrote the authors of MCU: The Reign of Marvel Studios following their conversation with Kevin Feige.
It’s certainly understandable why the actor parted from the project. Tom Cruise is one of the biggest actors in history, so it didn’t make sense to take a pay cut for a franchise without a secure future. While it may have been interesting to see Cruise as Tony Stark, Kevin Feige likely made the right choice in casting Roberty Downey Jr. as both Iron Man and the face of the MCU.
Marvel Games has promised the currently untitled Iron Man game will deliver an original story in its own continuity. The game will mark the first solo Iron Man game of this kind for console release since the Iron Man 2 movie tie-in back in 2010.
While few details have been revealed, the fact the game is described as a “single-player, third-person, action-adventure title” is big news. Marvel has released surprisingly few games of this variety in recent years, though the PS4 Spider-Man games were well received and may have encouraged the development of similar games such as this Iron Man project and the upcoming Wolverine.
While Marvel is gradually expanding in the realm of gaming, it is odd that each of their games takes place in its own continuity, foregoing the shared universe format made popular by the MCU. Some dialogue in Spider-Man had implied it would take place in the same continuity as Avengers, though it is possible working with different developers on different titles has made such integration difficult.
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