Years before Iron Man launched the Marvel Cinematic Universe and transformed Robert Downey Jr. into the definitive Tony Stark, the creative minds behind Smallville were crafting an entirely different interpretation of the armored superhero—one that nearly featured Tom Cruise in the iconic role.
Al Gough and Miles Millar, the writing partnership responsible for Smallville and Netflix's Wednesday, disclosed their involvement in developing an Iron Man screenplay following their contributions to Spider-Man 2's narrative development.
"[Marvel Studios founder] Avi Arad approached us after [our story work on] Spider-Man 2," Gough revealed during a recent Happy Sad Confused interview.
"Following Spider-Man 2, they approached us saying, 'gentlemen, we have another precious asset—Iron Man,'" Millar elaborated.
During this period, Iron Man existed far from today's billion-dollar franchise status. Marvel Studios remained in its infancy, with the character's film rights actually residing with New Line Cinema rather than Marvel—similar to Sony's continued ownership of Spider-Man properties.
Gough confessed, "Honestly, Iron Man was unfamiliar to me. Avi explained, 'Excellent. Here's his essence: he's a wealthy arms dealer with alcohol dependency issues. Following an accident, he's attempting to redeem himself and improve the world.'"
The writing team committed extensively to the project, producing multiple script iterations throughout an entire year. "We collaborated with Kevin [Feige] and Avi, and apparently [New Line Cinema founder Robert Shaye] had reviewed our material. It becomes fascinating observing generational perspectives attempting to comprehend superhero mythology.
"He became fixated on Iron Man's flight capabilities, drawing comparisons to Superman's flying... we essentially departed that meeting thinking, 'This project won't advance here.'"
Eventually, Marvel reclaimed the rights, Downey Jr. embodied Stark's character, and the MCU emerged. However, according to Millar, New Line's casting vision differed dramatically from the eventual outcome.
"Tom Cruise was their preference, and I believe Cruise expressed genuine interest," he disclosed.
The concept of an alternative Marvel universe featuring Cruise donning the red-and-gold armor years before the MCU's existence remains a fascinating what-if scenario in superhero cinema history.