Cruise's Iron Man In MCU’s Bad Illuminati Would’ve Secretly Honored RDJ
Tom Cruise's Iron Man appearing as part of Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness' Illuminati would have been a great tribute to Robert Downey Jr.'s version of the hero. Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness introduced the franchise's live-action version of the Marvel Comics secret superhero team, but with a slightly altered lineup. One of the changes in Doctor Strange 2's Illuminati is the glaring absence of Iron Man, who is one of the original members of the team in the comics.
The Illuminati are meant to represent the best of the best of the Marvel universe, with each member representing a major demographic in the superhero community in order to make important decisions about the fate of the galaxy. Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness' team is composed of Captain Carter (Hayley Atwell), Mordo (Chiwetel Ejiofor), and Maria Rambeau's Captain Marvel (Lashana Lynch), with Black Bolt (Anson Mount), Mister Fantastic (John Krasinski), and Professor X (Patrick Stewart). Prior to the Sam Raimi-directed film's release, however, there were rumors that Tom Cruise would cameo as an Iron Man variant, which clearly didn't pan out.
Related: Marvel Keeps Forgetting The Best Part Of Iron Man's Endgame Story
Understandably, Marvel Studios is very careful in terms of handling Iron Man’s legacy following the Infinity Saga. Downey did a magnificent job in the role and there are a lot of risks that come with the idea of seeing another actor playing the character, even if it's a variant and not Earth-616's Tony Stark. That said, Cruise playing Earth-838's Iron Man would have actually highlighted just how great Downey was in the role. Considering how bad MCU's first take on the Illuminati was, Cruise's Iron Man would
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