Tom Cruise fiercely flirted with the idea of playing Tony Stark for several years before Marvel Studios finally committed to casting Robert Downey Jr.

A closer look

Tom Cruise fiercely flirted with the idea of playing Tony Stark for several years before Marvel Studios finally committed to casting Robert Downey Jr. in the role that would essentially launch a multibillion-dollar cinematic universe. The Mission Impossible star eventually walked away because the script was not to his liking, completely missing out on the chance to become the sarcastic godfather of modern superhero movies. Can you even imagine a timeline where Iron Man is aggressively sprinting across rooftops in every scene and doing his own life-threatening aerial stunts while screaming about alien invasions? We honestly dodged a massive theatrical bullet, because handing a giant metal suit of armor to an actor who actively seeks out near-death experiences would have undoubtedly bankrupted the studio in insurance premiums alone!