New concept art for Iron Man has been found in a debug version of 2007's Spider-Man 3 video game. This was right before the Marvel Cinematic Universe launched, but Marvel Studios was already relatively knee-deep into the first Iron Man film, while at the same time Sony's Spider-Man films were actively independent and disconnected. That said, a new discovery suggests that Iron Man was at one point planned to be a part of Spider-Man 3's game.
Spider-Man is a key character in Marvel, especially now, but previously the character was largely in a closed-off universe on film. Although Doctor Strange was named dropped in Spider-Man 2, references in Sam Raimi's movies were kept minimal and didn't acknowledge other films like X-Men and Fantastic Four. That said, there was a possible chance that the Spider-Man 3 game would've expanded Sam Raimi's corner of the Marvel universe in a big way.
One fan who goes by Allosaur Hell on Twitter concept art for a rather odd-looking Iron Man in the files of a debug version of Spider-Man 3. It's been debated whether or not it was actually intended for the movie adaptation, as there's also a debug version of Spider-Man 3 that was dated almost a month after its release that features some missions and assets that clearly resemble Web of Shadows. The latter released a year and a half later and featured characters like Wolverine. Spider-Man exists within a world with the Avengers now, thanks to Insomniac Games, but it used to be a bit more ambiguous due to legal reasons.
It's possible some version of Iron Man was slated to appear alongside Tobey Maguire's virtual counterpart as there's also cut dialogue from Spider-Man 3 where Maguire's version of Peter Parker mentions other characters like Captain America. However, given this debug is a mish-mash of two games, it's hard to say for sure. Activision, the former publisher of the Spider-Man games, held the rights to Iron Man but lost them to Sega around the time of Spider-Man 3's development, likely to prepare for MCU tie-in games.
Nonetheless, it's an interesting peek into what could've been as Iron Man was about to become an overnight sensation. Given Spider-Man now co-exists with the Avengers in two different game universes and the films, it's wild to consider Tobey Maguire could've possibly interacted with other Marvel heroes at some point, even if it wasn't on the big screen. The former web-head is heavily rumored to reprise his role later this year in Spider-Man: No Way Home, but nothing has been confirmed and it's unknown if other Marvel heroes will appear.
Source: Allosaur Hell/Twitter