It ultimately didn’t work out, and Robert Downey Jr. was hired instead to play Tony Stark in the 2008 superhero movie.
A decade later, that casting decision has paid off for Marvel and then some, and Cruise acknowledged earlier this year that he can’t imagine himself playing Tony Stark.
Alas, life doesn’t always go the way we plan, and there were different circumstances that led to Tom Cruise opting not to join any of the above films.
For example, in Iron Man’s case, the actor wanted to be more involved in the production saying he needed to be able to make decisions.