Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness screenwriter Michael Waldron has addressed erroneous fan speculation that Tom Cruise would appear the film as Iron Man.
Before the film’s worldwide theatrical release on 6 May, Marvel fans claimed they had spotted the shadowy figure of Cruise as Iron Man – a character played by Robert Downey Jr for over a decade – in the trailers.
In an interview with Rolling Stone magazine published on Monday (9 May), Waldron said he agreed with Marvel Cinematic Universe followers who thought the Top Gun actor should play an alternate Iron Man in the multiverse, but that it was never an option for the Doctor Strange sequel.
Speaking to the publication, Waldron revealed the theory that the 59-year-old would play a variant Iron Man in Doctor Strange 2 “was totally made up” by fans.
“Yeah, that was totally made up,” Waldron told Rolling Stone, adding, “I mean, there’s no cut footage of Tom Cruise!”
However, Waldron revealed he did ask Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige whether there was any chance they could cast Cruise “because that’d be so cool”.
“I love Tom Cruise, and I said to Kevin at one point, I was like, ‘Could we get Tom Cruise’s Iron Man?’”, Waldron explained, adding that Cruise’s schedule didn’t align with filming dates for Multiverse of Madness.
When asked what Feige’s reponse to him was, Waldron said: “Well, I mean, [Cruise] was shooting Mission Impossible 7 and 8.”
Futhermore, he confirmed no one from the studio actually reached out to the 59-year-old regarding a cameo in the film because it was never “an option because of availability”.
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Benedict Cumberbatch, who plays the film’s titular character Dr Steven Strange, previously joked that Cruise was “in every scene, if you haven’t seen the trailer”.
“It is the biggest kept secret,” he quipped in an interview with The Indian Express.
