Tom Cruise has been known for choosing blockbuster scripts that have skyrocketed him to fame, establishing him as a bonafide superstar in Hollywood.
The stupendous success of his most recent film Top Gun: Maverick has proved this in no small measure. While the Mission Impossible actor has been part of some of the most iconic films over the years, there are also many massive projects that he has turned down or even rejected for various reasons, giving us an interesting and intriguing look into the star’s mind.
Tom Cruise in Top Gun: Maverick
Tom Cruise was the first choice for Johnny Depp’s Edward Scissorhands
Edward Scissorhands starring Johnny Depp was a film that catapulted the Pirates of the Caribbean star onto the big league. This Tim Burton film also went on to become a cult classic and made huge money at the box office profiting by almost 86 million dollars. But did you know that Johnny Depp was not the first choice for the film? It was in fact Tom Cruise who was approached by 20th century Fox to play the character of Edward Scissorhands despite director Tim Burton stating his preference to cast the Charlie and the Chocolate Factory star for the role.
Tom Cruise was the first choice for Edward Scissorhands
According to reports, the Alice in Wonderland director felt that Tom Cruise posed too many questions related to the logistics and aesthetics of the narrative, including wanting a happier ending for the film that did not tie in with the filmmaker’s darker vision. With the Cocktail actor’s constant nitpicking of the script coupled with other creative differences, Tim Burton and screenwriter Caroline Thompson took the executive decision to go with Johnny Depp instead. To quote the screenwriter,
“Part of the delicacy of the story was not answering questions like, ‘How does he go to the bathroom? How did he live without eating all those years?’ Tom Cruise was certainly unwilling to be in the movie without those questions being answered.”
Tom Cruise has also missed being part of these mega projects
Edward Scissorhands is just one of the big-budget films that Tom Cruise has missed being part of. The action star has been approached for many high-profile projects including that of Iron Man, a role that eventually went to Robert Downey Jr. According to sources, while Marvel Studios were very keen on casting the Minority Report star, the actor cited creative differences and also said that he was not in the right space to take up the character and do justice to it.
Tom Cruise with Johnny Depp
In retrospect, this is an extremely bold decision by Tom Cruise considering the staggering success of the Iron Man franchise in the MCU. But he states that he has no regrets. The Shawshank Redemption, Footloose, and A Beautiful Mind are some of the other films that Tom Cruise has rejected for different reasons.
