DC Heroes (& Villains) Tom Cruise Could Play

There is tremendous interest in Tom Cruise joining the DC movie universe – but who could he play? Cruise is one of the biggest movie stars on the planet and remains one of the most bankable. Remarkably, he has achieved this level of fame and fortune throughout his nearly-40 years in Hollywood without starring in a comic book superhero franchise. But Cruise may not be a holdout forever and the DC universe looks like the best franchise for him to join.

Over a decade ago, Cruise was in the mix when Marvel Studios was casting the role of Iron Man. Today, the idea of Tom Cruise making a DC film is something the actor has publicly stated he would entertain “if it’s something the fans want.” Many fans definitely do want to see Cruise take on a DC superhero franchise at last, and that also includes his Mission: Impossible – Fallout castmate Henry Cavill, who also plays Superman. The superstar actor/producer is already an established action hero and DC Films would absolutely benefit from his involvement. He would just need the right character to sink his teeth into.

Related: Casting The Legion of Doom For the DCEU

While some of the biggest DC heroes and villains have already been cast, there are still many more characters in the universe and Cruise is actually an excellent fit for a number of them. Here are eight DC characters, some obvious and some offbeat but potentially fascinating, that Tom Cruise could possibly play if he joined the Worlds of DC.

• This Page: DC Superheroes Tom Cruise Can Play
• Page 2: DC Villains Tom Cruise Could Play

Green Lantern Hal Jordan

Tom Cruise’s name has been floated as a possibility for Hal Jordan for a while, and it’s easy to see why of all of DC’s core superheroes, the role as the most well-known Green Lantern makes sense for the actor. Before donning the Power Ring, Jordan was a hotshot fighter pilot with daddy issues – not unlike one of the actor’s most famous roles, Maverick in Top Gun, which Cruise is reprising in the sequel. Jordan is cocky but heroic, qualities Cruise has built his career around, especially in his earlier years.

Per recent rumors, were Cruise were cast as Jordan in the long-awaited Green Lantern Corps, which is currently in development, it would be as an older Green Lantern who is said to be mentoring a young ring-slinging partner in a buddy-space-cop saga. After six films as Ethan Hunt, leader of the Impossible Mission Force, this type of role also falls within Cruise’s wheelhouse.

However, the Green Lantern Corps screenplay is still being written by Geoff Johns, and the former DC Chief Creative Officer promises his reboot will “re-invent” what fans know about Green Lantern, so it’s unclear what direction the film will take if cameras finally roll.

Related: Casting The Green Lantern Corps For The DCEU

The Atom (Ray Palmer)

The DC movie universe needs its version of Ant-Man and this could be an instance of Tom Cruise taking on a lesser-known DC hero but using his clout to build the Atom into a major star and key player in the franchise. By harnessing the power of a white dwarf star, genius physicist Ray Palmer can shrink to subatomic levels while maintaining his adult-sized strength level. While that sounds exactly like Ant-Man, Cruise could re-imagine the Ray Palmer character to be completely different from the loveable loser Paul Rudd plays in the MCU.

Ray Palmer is portrayed by Brandon Routh (a former big screen Superman) in DC’s Legends of Tomorrow, but Routh also plays Palmer as an affable nerd. Cruise’s star power could turn the Atom into a true movie star and make him worthy of being in the Justice League. After starring in Oblivion and Edge of Tomorrow, Cruise is no stranger to science fiction and he could invent a new microscopic universe to explore as part of DC.

The Question (Vic Sage)

Cruise’s action hero status could be put to great use by portraying one of the DC Universe’s most interesting street-level superheroes: the Question. Created by the late Steve Ditko and written in a seminal run in the 1980s by Dennis O’Neil, Vic Sage is a crusading reporter, martial artist, and seeker of truth who dons a mask that makes him look like he has no face. Sage’s version of the character later mentored Gotham detective Renee Montoya, who later assumed the mantle of the Question. His popular Justice League Unlimited animated portrayal also cast the Question as a conspiracy-minded sleuth.

A feature film starring Cruise could have him portray Vic Sage while also training a young protege who is both female and gay. The actor’s recent turns as Jack Reacher proved he can believably portray a street-level action hero, while his role in The Last Samurai gave him grounding in the Question’s Eastern mysticism. Plus, in Mission: Impossible, Cruise is already accustomed to wearing masks and prosthetics so there’s no threat to his movie star ego by wearing a mask that completely obscures his face.

Page 2 of 2: DC Villains Tom Cruise Could Play

The Reverse-Flash (Eobard Thawne)

Tom Cruise rarely lets his dark side loose and takes on a villainous role, but when he does, such as the fearsome contract killer in Collateral, he’s electrifying. Perhaps the DC supervillain the actor could best embody would be the Reverse-Flash, Eobard Thawne. The yellow-clad speedster, who is the arch-enemy of the Flash, Barry Allen, has been portrayed memorably on The CW’s The Flash by Tom Cavanagh and Matt Letscher, so it would take an actor with the pure star power of Tom Cruise to elevate the role for a feature film.

The Flash movie starring Ezra Miller is set to release in 2020 if directors Jonathan Goldstein and John Francis Daley’s production goes to plan, and while little is known of the plot, if they are going for Reverse-Flash, Cruise would be a strong pick. The role of Thawne – a man from the future who despises the Flash and time traveled to kill his mother Nora – would be an unforgettable one, with him posing a true challenge for Miller’s young superhero to overcome. And, after all, Tom Cruise is known for running in his movies so why shouldn’t he play the DC Universe’s greatest evil speedster?

Related: Casting The Batman Family For The DCEU

Maxwell Lord

Another DC villain Tom Cruise could excel at playing would be Maxwell Lord. Originally introduced as the billionaire benefactor of the Justice League International in the 1980s, Lord’s role evolved into a flat-out supervillain. By the mid-2000’s, the telepath with the power of persuasion was the evil King of Checkmate and attacking the superheroes, even murdering the Blue Beetle (Ted Kord), before Wonder Woman executed him. In DC’s Rebirth continuity, Lord assembled the original Suicide Squad to take on the Justice League and the current Suicide Squad.

Lord was also the villain in the never-made Justice League: Mortal film director George Miller planned a decade ago. In 2018, a new cinematic version of Maxwell Lord unshackled from all of the comics’ confusing continuity could be tailor-made for Tom Cruise. He could even portray the character as both a hero and a villain. The actor and the comic book baddie also share something unique in common: Max’s full name is Maxwell Lord IV, not unlike how Cruise’s full name is Thomas Cruise Mapother IV.

Two-Face

The status of Matt Reeves’ The Batman and whether Ben Affleck will continue to portray the Dark Knight in the future remain unclear, especially since Batman and Justice League were ignored at San Diego Comic-Con. While it’s hard to rule anybody out of a recast, given Reeves’ rumored plans for Batman to be 15-20 years younger that probably does put a cap on Cruise; even his boyish charms don’t stretch that far.

However, the villains are usually the true stars of the Batman movies anyway, and Cruise would make an excellent Two-Face. The criminally insane former D.A. Harvey Dent was memorably portrayed by Aaron Eckhart in The Dark Knight (and also by the not-as-fondly remembered Tommy Lee Jones in Batman Forever), but Cruise’s movie star wattage could elevate the role even further.

Related: Casting Batman’s Rogue’s Gallery For The DCEU

Ra’s al Ghul

Speaking of Batman villains, one who would be more of a longshot possibility for Tom Cruise to play is Ra’s al-Ghul. The Demon’s Head is one of Batman’s greatest nemeses (who even trained Bruce Wayne in Christopher Nolan’s continuity), and is another supervillain worthy of Tom Cruise’s star power. It’s an offbeat choice to be sure, especially considering Ra’s’ Middle Eastern heritage, but unfortunately, neither actor to have played Ra’s in live-action – the Irish Liam Neeson in Batman Begins nor the Australian Matthew Nable in The CW’s Arrow – have been Middle Eastern either.

Tom Cruise as R’as al-Ghul definitely has a curiosity and novelty factor, just as Cruise playing Lestat did in Interview With The Vampire in the 1990s. It’s possible Cruise could fall on his face if he played the immortal supervillain, but it also would be fun to watch him try.

Darkseid

Marvel Studios scored a coup by casting Josh Brolin as Thanos and banked on him to be the center of Avengers: Infinity War, which became one of the biggest blockbusters ever. What kind of masterstroke would DC need to equal Marvel’s achievement? How about casting Tom Cruise as Darkseid! That may sound insane, but the combination of smart writing, a soulful performance by Brolin, and flawless CGI and motion capture made audiences actually empathize with a giant purple alien who murdered half of all life in the universe. Meanwhile, DC needs to learn from their failure with Steppenwolf in Justice League.

Though he banks more on action roles in recent years, Tom Cruise has earned three Academy Award nominations for acting and he could deliver exactly what Darkseid needs: the depth, intensity, and humanity that could make the lord of Apokolips a three-dimensional character and not merely an abstract evil villain. Director Ana Duvernay is currently developing a New Gods feature film, and Tom Cruise cast as the greatest cosmic villain in the DC Universe could eclipse Josh Brolin’s work as Thanos.

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