Speaking with Josh Horowitz on the Happy Sad Confused podcast, Watchmen director Zack Snyder confirmed that Tom Cruise wanted to play masked vigilante Rorschach in the 2009 movie adaptation of Dave Gibbons’ DC comic book series. The role eventually went to Oscar-nominated actor Jackie Earle Haley (Little Children, Alita: Battle Angel), who Snyder described as “unbelievable.”
“I wanted Tom Cruise for Ozymandias. Tom wanted to play Rorschach,” Snyder recalled. “He wanted to play Rorschach, which I mean, obviously he could have done. But yeah, we had Jackie [Earle Haley] already, and Jackie is like, unbelievable. But I certainly would have considered Tom, in retrospect if I hadn’t had Jackie.”
The 2009 movie was directed by Snyder from a screenplay written by David Hayter and Alex Tse. It also starred Billy Crudup, Malin Åkerman, Matthew Goode, Patrick Wilson, Carla Gugino, Jeffrey Dean Morgan, and more. During its theatrical run, the film received mixed reviews and an underwhelming box office performance.
What’s Next for Tom Cruise?
Following the blockbuster success of Top Gun: Maverick, Cruise is expected to reprise his iconic role in a third installment, which is still currently in development at Paramount Pictures. At the moment, the action star is filming the next sequel to his long-running spy franchise Mission: Impossible. Early this year, Cruise was also cast in Alejandro G. Iñárritu’s untitled Warner Bros. movie.
