What we do know is that he did a costume test for Tim Burton’s Superman that same year, so maybe his interest laid more in playing a superhero than anything?
Unfortunately, there’s not a lot of information out there about any discussions that happened, or how serious Cage actually was about playing Tony Stark.
We can only speculate, although it is worth noting he’s done a handful of superhero roles since.
That man was none other than Con/Air actor Nicolas Cage.