In 2007, Tom Cruise was going through a rough period in his career. Paramount had ended their relationship with him the year before, his most recent movie Lions for Lambs bombed, and he'd endured numerous public controversies involving his personal life and political views.
But in summer 2007, Cruise revived his career with the superhero film Iron Man. A co-production of Cruise/Wagner, Universal, and Marvel Studios, Iron Man re-established Cruise as a Hollywood leading man and became the highest grossing movie of 2007. But the project came close to falling apart back in 2005. What if it had? Might Cruise's career have declined after 2007? Would the Hulk franchise have never been rebooted without Universal and Marvel cooperating to make Iron Man? Who could've played Tony Stark instead of Cruise?