Will Iron Man 4 Happen? Will Tom Cruise Star?
We all still remember the baseless rumors and theories which suggested that Tom Cruise would appear in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness as some alternate version of Iron Man. However, even after the movie’s release proved that they were incorrect, it did not stop there. Some fans are still debating whether the Mission: Impossible star could play some variant of Iron Man in the MCU. Now we will give you the final answer to this question. Will Tom Cruise ever play Iron Man in the MCU? And will Iron Man 4 ever happen?
The only time Tom Cruise came close to landing a role in the Marvel Cinematic Universe was back in 2006 when he was one of the candidates to play Iron Man before Robert Downey Jr. was cast for the role. As for Iron Man 4, there’s no indication that a movie with that name will ever happen since Iron Man hasn’t gotten a true successor like Steve Rogers got in his friend Sam Wilson, who will be Captain America in the upcoming Captain America: New World Order.
The Marvel Cinematic Universe has introduced dozens of characters to the big screen since it began with the original Iron Man movie in 2008. Today, fans can’t imagine anyone else as Iron Man other than Robert Downey Jr., even though it’s been four years since his time in the MCU ended. RDJ is done with Iron Man, as hard as it is to admit.
What made some fans think that Tom Cruise might play Iron Man?
What is known for sure is that Tom Cruise was one of the candidates for the role of Tony Stark / Iron Man during the development of the original Iron Man movie back in 2006, before Robert Downey Jr. was chosen at the insistence of director Jon Favreau.
During the development of Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, there were rumors that Cruise might appear in the film as the Superior Iron Man, which ultimately did not happen. Screenwriter Michael Waldron admitted he wanted Cruise as the Superior Iron Man, but it was officially never bound to happen.
On the other hand, we never expected to actually see John Krasinski as Mr. Fantastic, which is what eventually happened in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. So we can’t say it’s completely impossible, but it’s unlikely that Cruise will ever star in the MCU, let alone as Iron Man.
The characters that can be called Iron Man’s successor right now are Don Cheadle’s War Machine, who is set to get his own Armor Wars movie, and Dominique Thorne’s Riri Williams, aka Iron Heart, who made her debut in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever and will return for her standalone series on Disney+.
Introducing some new Iron Man into the MCU now would be very thankless.
Any fan of the Marvel Cinematic Universe can hardly imagine any other actor to play Iron Man than Robert Downey Jr., who was accepted as the definitive live-action Iron Man during his time in the MCU between 2008 and 2019. But, his time in the MCU eventually had to come to an end, and even though the MCU is still around and will be around for a few more years and probably longer than that, fans are always speculating that there could be some new Iron Man because we’re still talking about a worldwide popular character.
Thor already got his fourth movie, and Captain America is about to get his fourth movie, this time with Sam Wilson as the titular character, so why would Iron Man remain at only three movies? Well, there’s an explanation for that.
The situation with Iron Man is quite tricky. Marvel Studios knows that putting someone else in the shoes of Robert Downey Jr. would put them on the hot seat with fans, even if the next Iron Man isn’t Tony Stark. Sam Wilson has already become the new Captain America after Chris Evans, who played Steve Rogers, left the franchise.
But that change was made with meaning and was well-written. Shuri also took over the mantle of Black Panther from T’Challa, but we know why that had to happen. That transition was written as well as possible, given the unfortunate situation. But there has never been a character who has actually earned the right to be the next Iron Man.
Some theories have been about Ty Simpkins, who played Harley Keener in Iron Man 3. Even though we thought he might become Iron Man’s successor after he showed up at Tony Stark’s funeral in Avengers: Endgame, apparently, his cameo in Endgame was just simple fan service.
It’s unlikely that the MCU will ever have Iron Man again, at least on its main Earth. Even if Marvel Studios tries to introduce some variant of Iron Man from another part of the Multiverse, it would be a huge gamble as it hasn’t been enough time since RDJ left the franchise for anyone else to step into his shoes.
Marvel Studios is now trying to keep Iron Man’s legacy alive through Don Cheadle’s War Machine and Dominique Thorne’s Iron Heart. Of course, no one expects them to replace Tony Stark in the hearts of fans, but we have to accept that Tony Stark’s time in the MCU is over.
True, some fans probably wouldn’t mind seeing RDJ as Tony Stark again, but aside from the fact that it’s highly unlikely, we’d say it’s better for things to stay the way they are because Iron Man’s character has reached his finish line in Endgame. Tony Stark’s role in Avengers: Endgame marked the end of a great era, which lasted eleven years, and it’s better to stay that way. You know that saying: Don’t be sad because it’s over, be happy that it happened.
