Have you ever wondered what Avengers: Endgame would look like with the actors who were considered and almost cast? The cast of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and particularly the core Avengers, fit so perfectly into their respective roles that it is hard to imagine anyone else in them. But, with the characters having been around for so long, and with roles in the massive comic book blockbusters being so coveted, there are multiple different actors that could have won out, and ultimately changed and reshaped the MCU as we know it. Well, a new fanmade poster shows fans exactly what that would have looked like.

This fascinating piece of fan art takes the kind of Avengers: Endgame poster design that we are all familiar with and replaces the roles with both actors who were considered over the years, as well as actors who very nearly did portray the various iconic Marvel characters.

To begin with, we now have The Office and A Quiet Place star John Krasinski as Captian America. Krasinski quite famously came incredibly close to suiting-up as Cap for real, in the end losing out on the role to Chris Evans. The poster also casts Emily Blunt as Black Widow, a role that was hers for the taking but ended up being given to Scarlet Johansson after Blunt dropped out due to a scheduling conflict.

The most jarring change though is that of Mission Impossible and Top Gun: Maverick superstar Tom Cruise as Tony Stark aka Iron Man. Arguably the Marvel Cinematic Universe owes its success to Robert Downey Jr's game-changing performance as Iron Man, with the actor bringing not only his talent for the dramatic but also the kind of fun-loving improvisation that not only shaped the character on screen but even lead to changes in the comics. Tom Cruise's name was floated for years, every time the idea of an Iron Man movie came up, and whilst he may well have done well in the role, there is no way he would have made his own to the extent that Downey Jr. has.

The rest of the casting changes are equally interesting with James Bond star Daniel Craig now wielding Mjolnir as the God of Thunder himself, Thor, Marvel's first choice Joaquin Phoenix as the Sorcerer Supreme Doctor Strange, Michael B. Jordan as Falcon (he, of course, later joined the MCU in Black Panther), and Timothée Chalamet as Spider-Man. Gamora appears to be Amanda Seyfried, and Star-Lord is now played by Shazam! star Zachary Levi.

The poster is not completely accurate, as some of the characters featured met their dusty end during the finale of Avengers: Infinity War, but it still a lot of fun to wonder what the MCU would have been like had this been the cast. It seems unthinkable now, particularly with the likes of Robert Downey Jr., and Chris; Evans and Hemsworth having proven to be so popular in their respective roles.

A year on from Avengers: Endgame and it still stands up as an incredible comic book movie feat. the movie is now available to watch on Disney+. This glimpse into an alternate universe where Tom Cruise played Iron Man comes to us from digial graphic artists Apexform.

Avengers Endgame Alternate Universe Cast