Tom Cruise is a household name. He’s a blockbuster movie superstar. He’s dominated the action film scene for decades, and he’s also turned in numerous quality performances in dramatic leads.
Regardless of what you think of Tom Cruise the person, he’s always been a pretty underrated actor. Yet, despite his stardom and massive film resume, he’s yet to participate in a superhero movie.
Perhaps part of that is his lack of desire. Or maybe the studios haven’t found the right fit for him. I do think there are a few superhero roles that could be perfect for Tom Cruise, though.
Considering his age (he’s now 60 as I write this), his options are admittedly dwindling. However, if he ever wants to jump head first into the comic book movie realm, he could start with these three roles.
1. Iron Man
Without a doubt, the #1 superhero movie role Tom Cruise could play is Tony Stark (aka Iron Man). It feels borderline criminal to say this out loud, of course, as Robert Downey Jr. will forever be this character.
That said, there have been some direct ties between Cruise and the Iron Man role. In all fairness, though, he’s come out and publicly said he was never close to taking the gig.
Does that mean we could never see Tom Cruise as Iron Man? I’m not so sure. The MCU could obviously explore alternate universes down the road, while some type of Iron Man reboot or continuation can’t be ruled out, either.
Perhaps the ship has sailed on Tom Cruise playing Tony Stark. That said, he actually would be perfect for this role, and I wouldn’t mind seeing it happen.
After all, there are a number of ways we get there. Unsure about Tom Cruise as Iron Man? Perhaps this Deepfake of him in the role will change your mind.
2. Hal Jordan (Green Lantern)
Another superhero Tom Cruise could play is the Green Lantern.
This is another possible superhero gig Cruise has been loosely attached to, as he was among the top actors seemingly considered for the reboot when Zack Snyder was still running the show at DC.
It is unclear just how close we got to a Tom Cruise-led Green Lantern movie. However, what we do know is that he looks a lot like the character, and James Gunn and the DC decision-makers have Green Lantern on their radar.
Cruise might be getting a bit long in the tooth to play the Green Lantern at this point, but he could always play an older version, or even one in an alternate timeline.
Of course, it remains to be seen if any Green Lantern movie would collide with the announced Lanterns TV show. Cruise doesn’t appear to be affiliated with that, but if they’re made separate, it’d be too early to rule him out of playing Hal Jordan completely.
3. Mister Sinister
Tom Cruise would probably make the most sense as a superhero, but why can’t he play a supervillain? It’s not like we haven’t seen him display his darkness before.
It’s arguable he never showcased it better than in Collateral.
Cruise can absolutely play a bad guy, and one of the scariest options we’ve actually yet to see come to life in a live action film is the X-Men’s Mister Sinister.
That doesn’t mean we haven’t seen him in mild doses, though, and his appearance in the animated X-Men series was about as jarring as it gets for a cartoon show.
Can Cruise actually play someone so, erm, sinister? I think he can. Plus, his age is less of a factor here, and it’d be more about his stature and being cold blooded.
Which Superhero Would Tom Cruise Be Perfect For?
Ultimately, if Tom Cruise does ever play a superhero, I think it’s likely that it’d come down to Iron Man or Green Lantern.
Cruise has the looks and demeanor to completely nail either of these characters, and age isn’t a major issue for either role.
I don’t think the interest has really been there for Hollywood or Cruise, and he’s already 60. If I had to make a prediction, my gut says his days of possibly taking on a role like this have passed him by.
Still, it’s fun to think about which superheroes (or villains) Cruise could play – and do so successfully. Got any other ideas for Cruise or want to discuss my list? Head to the comments below!
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