Doctor Strange 2 writer confirms if Tom Cruise cameo was ever on the cards

gamesradar.com:

Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness featured some huge cameos from the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Warning! Spoilers ahead for the movie as we detail some of the biggest appearances.

With the introduction of both the multiverse and the Illuminati, Doctor Strange 2 had almost free rein to bring in variants of well-known characters. We went wild at the introduction of Patrick Stewart’s Professor X, Hayley Atwell as Captain Carter, John Krasinski as Reed Richards, Lashana Lynch as Captain Marvel, and Anson Mount as Black Bolt.

However, some viewers were expecting to see another huge cameo in the Marvel movie as Tom Cruise was rumored to play Iron Man. Now the film’s writer Michael Waldron has opened up about what really happened there – and if they ever reached out to the Hollywood star.

Chatting to Rolling Stone, Waldron admitted that this cameo was mostly just fan speculation. This was because Cruise was initially a favorite to play Iron Man when that film was being cast back in 2007. However, Waldron liked the idea himself, explaining that he even brought it to Marvel boss Kevin Feige. 

He explained: "That was totally made up. I mean, there’s no cut footage of Tom Cruise! But I love Tom Cruise, and I said to Kevin [Feige] at one point, I was like, 'Could we get Tom Cruise’s Iron Man?'" Waldron said he thought it would "be cool" after he read about the speculation online.

The Marvel writer was quizzed about Feige’s response to his suggestion, as well as if they actually reached out to him. He revealed that he doesn’t think it went any further as Cruise was busy filming. "Well, I mean, he was shooting Mission Impossible 7 and 8," he continued. "I just don’t think it was ever an option, because of availability."

Doct