Tom Cruise says, he was ‘not close’ to playing Iron man over Robert Downey Jr

Washington [US], February 26 (ANI): Can Tom Cruise be the next Iron man?
Addressing the rumour spanning over years, Tom Cruise revealed in a new interview with podcast Phase Zero, that he wasn’t anywhere close to actually snagging the role, reported People. “Not close,” he confirmed. “I love Robert Downey Jr., and I can’t imagine anyone else doing that role, and I think it’s perfect for him.”

The statement comes nearly a year after Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness screenwriter Michael Waldron revealed to Rolling Stone that Cruise was pitched to play a variant of Tony Stark in the 2022 film.

And even before then, fans were spreading the words that Cruise was considered for the original Iron Man role, which Downey Jr took on in 2008 to kick off the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

“Yeah, that was totally made up. I mean, there’s no cut footage of Tom Cruise,” Waldron said of the online rumours. “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.”

He added, “As it was being talked about online, I was like, ‘Yeah, that’d be cool!'”
Waldron clarified that he didn’t think anyone reached out to the actor “because of availability.”

The star, who has played Col. James “Rhodey” Rhodes (aka War Machine) in the films since joining the cast of 2010’s Iron Man 2, added, “I’ve kind of grown up over the last 12 years with this cast who I really have fun with.” (ANI)