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Tom Cruise?!?! Ah ha ha haaaaa!!

“Iron Man” Can in 2008
Batman last summer. Superman this summer. Spider-Man next summer. And coming in summer 2008: A superhero in a can.
A big-screen, live-action movie about the armor-encased Marvel Comics’ character known as Iron Man will break into theaters on May 2, 2008, Paramount Pictures and Marvel Entertainment announced Friday.
The moves positions Iron Man as the first popcorn picture of summer 2008, as well as the first one with a definitive release date. Other high-profile projects circling the territory include additions to the Chronicles of Narnia and Indiana Jones franchises.
As previously announced, Iron Man will be directed by Jon Favreau. The Swingers star turned Elf helmer recently told the Calgary Sun that shooting will start in January.
No cast has been announced; no Iron Man man has been confirmed. Favreau said he wants “someone with experience but a low profile.”
“Stars bring too much baggage with them,” Favreau said in the Calgary Sun. “I don’t think Daredevil benefited by casting Ben Affleck at the height of his popularity, even if he did desperately want to play the character.”
Favreau costarred with Affleck in Daredevil.
In the past, Tom Cruise and would-be Superman/incumbent Ghost Rider Nicolas Cage have been linked to Iron Man, a factoid that helps illustrate how far back Iron Man’s past runs. For years, the hero toiled in development hell. His luck seemed to change in late 2004 when New Line Cinema announced Nick Cassavetes (The Notebook) would direct.
But Iron Man’s close-up didn’t happen. Marvel reclaimed its pile of tin last year. Around the same time, the comics giant announced plans for 10 self-financed superhero movies to be released by Paramount. Iron Man will be the first to emerge from that deal, beating the likes of Captain America and Ant-Man to the multiplex. According to Variety, Captain America will be next on the soundstage after Iron Man, the shield-baring hero’s foe in Marvel Comics’ much-hyped new Civil Wars series.
Captain America is being primed for a 2009 release, the trade paper said. Scripts are also in the works for Thor, Nick Fury and the aforementioned Ant-Man.
The Marvel/Paramount pact looks to safeguard against any disruptions in the superhero pipeline. Last summer, Batman Begins and Fantastic Four fed the fanboy need. This summer, X-Men: The Last Stand and Superman Returns, opening Wednesday, will do their part. Next summer, it’ll be up to the likes of Spider-Man 3.
Though not an icon like Superman, Batman or Spider-Man, Iron Man is no newcomer–he made his comic-book debut in 1963.
According to his official Marvel biography, Iron Man was born Anthony Edward Stark in Long Island, New York, where presumably he led a happy life until in superhero tradition his parents were killed, and all sorts of bad/weird stuff started happening, including a bad ticker that led him to suit up in Hormel-approved duds. Known as Tony to friends, Stark heads Stark Enterprises. In his spare time, he fights evildoers with the Avengers.