Tom Cruise as Iron Man Art Turns Him Into a Tony Stark Variant

Artist Rahan Nejraoui imagines Tom Cruise finally taking on the role of Iron Man as a Tony Stark Variant in a multiversal-inspired piece of Marvel Cinematic Universe fan art. Though Cruise has no current history with the MCU, the actor was one of the Marvel Studios first considerations for the part of the armored Avenger. Ultimately, Robert Downey Jr was hired to play the hero in 2008’s Iron Man.

Due to Sylvie (Sophia di Martino) killing He Who Remains (Jonathan Majors) in the Loki season 1 finale, the Multiverse was truly introduced to audiences as the Kang variant promised his death would lead to a multiversal conflict, pitting Variants of characters against one another. What If..? explored other branching timelines, while Spider-Man: No Way Home expanded on the concept, tying in the pre-Holland Spider-Man film series into the MCU multiverse, with Benedict Cumberbatch’s Stephen Strange set to face variants of himself in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. With the opportunity to revisit old heroes with vastly different fates and faces, one fan artist has brought one of the MCU’s oldest casting “What If” scenarios to life.

Digital fan artist Nejraoui shared his latest piece on his personal Instagram account, depicting Cruise as the MCU hero. The artwork sees a battered Cruise in armor resembling Iron Man’s Mark 43 armor seen in Avengers: Age of Ultron, complete with the character’s iconic facial hair. Nejraoui commented that he had been inspired by the tale of Cruise’s original casting, as well as rumors he had heard about the upcoming Doctor Strange sequel featuring Cruise as a Variant in a cameo appearance. Check out Nejraoui’s piece below.

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Though Cruise denied he was close to playing Stark in 2018, many artists have tried their hands at drawing the Mission Impossible star as the popular founding Avenger. Alongside drawings and photo-edits, other fans have even gone as far as to use deepfake technology to imagine him in the role, overlapping Cruise’s face onto footage of Downey Jr. from across various MCU movies with software. Cruise isn’t the only familiar face associated with Marvel’s cinematic history to be rumored to appear, as James McAvoy denied rumors that he would reprise his role of Charles Xavier in Multiverse of Madness in September 2021.

Cruise could have potentially been a great Tony Stark in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, not only could he capture the charisma, charm, and ego of Iron Man, but could play Tony at not only his most vulnerable and darker moments where his bad habits get the better of him. Despite this potential, Downey Jr. will forever be Iron Man in the eyes of many, with the star being the heart of the MCU for many years. With Strange being joined by America Chavez (Xochitl Gomez), a hero capable of jumping to different realities, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness offers plenty of opportunities to bring Nejraoui’s art to life.