It’s hard to believe that it’s been 10 years since the first “Iron Man” hit theaters. Since then, the Marvel Cinematic Universe has gone on to be the biggest franchise going today, perhaps the biggest of all time, and it all started because of one actor – Robert Downey, Jr. However, he wasn’t the first choice to play the Iron Avenger.
No, the prevalent rumor back in the day was that none other than Tom Cruise would be Tony Stark in the “Iron Man” film. However, that clearly never came to be, but Comicbook.com was able to talk to the action star recently, and they asked him exactly how close he came to starring in the mega-franchise.
“Not close. Not close, and I love Robert Downey Jr. I can’t imagine anyone else in that role, and I think it’s perfect for him,” said Cruise.
Now, the real question is whether or not we can see Cruise suiting up for his own superhero adventure. When asked, the “Mission: Impossible” star said, “I look at a movie and I don’t rule anything out. It’s, ‘What’s the story? Does it interest me? Do I feel this is where the audience would like to see me in? What can I learn?’ And ‘What can I contribute?’ That’s how I choose my movies.”
So, there’s hope yet that Cruise could still appear in the MCU.
One person who’s appeared plenty in the Marvel Cinematic Universe is none other than Samuel L. Jackson, aka Nick Fury. The actor was the subject of the very first post-credits scene in an MCU film, tacked on to the end of “Iron Man,” where he first uttered the word “avenger.” Since then, he’s been a mainstay of the series.
Well, in a recent interview, Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige talked about what led to Jackson showing up at the end of the film, and why the post-credits scenes even became a Marvel trademark.
“We wanted Nick Fury to be the character to intertwine characters, but we didn’t want to interrupt the movie. You know, if Sam Jackson in an eyepatch showed up in the middle, it might be jarring. I presumed the only people who would stay through the credits were people who would know who the guy in the eyepatch was,” explained Feige, in an interview with EW.
And as far as what scenes get chosen for that coveted post-credits spotlight, Feige said, “… it always just comes down to, what do we think would be a fun extra at the end of the movie? What do we think would be a fun thing slightly outside the narrative, but tied to the grander overall narrative, that would be the fun reward for people sitting through all of our names?”
Our last bit of “Avengers” news today comes from “The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon.” The late-night show is known for making celebs jump through hoops to shamelessly hock their wares, and last night was no exception. Fallon somehow convinced the major stars of the MCU to sing a new version of “The Brady Bunch” theme song, titled “The Marvel Bunch.” It’s as cringe-worthy and embarrassing as you might imagine.
But then again, if Robert Downey, Jr. is making tens of millions of dollars per Marvel film, then he deserves to be taken down a peg or two and subjected to a bit of public embarrassment.
And rounding out today’s Marvel Roundup is clip # 1359234 from ‘Infinity War’ (we’ve lost count, admittedly). In this clip, we see Thor meeting the Guardians: