Spider-Man: 15 Actors Who Almost Played Major Roles

15. Tom Cruise

The late '80s was not a good time for superhero films, and when Superman III flopped, not many people were willing to give Spidey a chance. Marvel offered the rights to Cannon Films, and a version directed by Tobe Hooper entered pre-production. Fresh from Top Gun, it was a toss-up between Cruise and Scott Leva, but Cruise was reportedly the front-runner for Web-Head.

There were various financial worries and departures from the team, so a completely different (Cruiseless) version of the Cannon film eventually moved forward with Leva (a Hollywood stunt man) in the lead for financial reasons - it was still a film that never came to be.

Maybe the big bucks of having Cruise could save a film nowadays, but at this point Cruise was still up and coming. In a time before he found Scientology, how would the short-statured actor fair as nerdy Peter Parker? This one certainly would have been "Risky Business" indeed.