Kang came, he saw, but he didn’t conquer.
After just one movie and a handful of Loki episodes, Jonathan Majors is officially out as the MCU‘s second big bad. While we don’t know for certain if the character will be kicked to the curb alongside him, there’s a definite strong feeling that Kang’s dynasty is over before it even began. Just look at the fact that 2026’s Avengers: The Kang Dynasty is reportedly being referred to as simply Avengers 5 behind the scenes.
Needless to say, this is all a rather embarrassing turn for Marvel’s Multiverse Saga, especially coming as it does at the end of perhaps the most difficult year in the MCU’s history to date. So once Avengers 5 and its 2027 sequel, Avengers: Secret Wars, get here, the studio will need to pull out all the stops to restore the hype for what really should be cinema’s next Endgame-sized event.
But could that involve Mr. Tom Cruise finally making his long-awaited MCU debut?
Jonathan Majors is out, Robert Downey Jr. isn’t coming back… Could Tom Cruise be in?
A quick history lesson for those who may not be aware: Tom Cruise was famously in the running to play Iron Man before Robert Downey Jr. got the gig. In recent times, rumors swirled that he was going to be cast as a Tony Stark variant, Superior Iron Man, in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. That didn’t end up happening on that occasion, but now that Kang is out the door, he might’ve left it ajar for Cruise to slip inside.
As Variety reported in an expose in November, after a series of box office disappointments, Marvel is supposedly looking to return to relying on star power in order to draw back audiences. Well, Mission: Impossible — Dead Reckoning might not have been his crowning achievement, but sheer star wattage doesn’t come much brighter than Tom Cruise. Don’t forget that he was single-handedly thanked for saving cinema post-pandemic with Top Gun: Maverick.
It’s an open secret that the Multiverse Saga will conclude with various legacy stars from Marvel movies past returning for the biggest crossover event we’ve seen yet. So expect Tobey Maguire, Hugh Jackman and the like to pop up again. At the same time, the studio has the potential to build on John Krasinski’s Doctor Strange 2 cameo and make those almost-castings and favorite fan-castings a reality too. And Cruise’s Iron Man should be right at the top of the list.
As much as fans might want to see him again, Downey is likely done for good as Tony, so the option is there for Cruise to wander in. If Kang’s replacement as villain turns out to be who we think it’s going to be — it rhymes with Proctor Room — there will be a lot of screentime for a guy in a metal mask. Marvel needs a ticket-generating face like Cruise’s to balance that out.
With Kang gone, we know even less about Marvel’s upcoming plans than we did before, but bringing Tom Cruise aboard is certainly one of the lowest-hanging yet potentially most beneficial ideas to help the MCU’s eventual next Avengers event reach the heights of yesteryear. Just drop him in (from the ceiling) and soon Kevin Feige will be sitting back and saying “show me the money!”
