There is no figure in comics or comic book movies more recognizable and universally beloved than Stan Lee. The legendary comic book creator had a hand in creating some of the most popular characters of all time and his name is synonymous with the Marvel brand. Perhaps the only thing more enduring than the incredible characters and worlds he created, is the man himself. Stan Lee turned 95 on December 28th, 2017 and the comic book and film worlds sent their best wishes. Among them, Marvel Studios' Kevin Feige, who let it be known that Stan Lee's birthday means one thing: more cameos.
In this comic book movie age, Stan Lee's face has become as recognizable to the public at large as his name has been to comic fans for decades. In a time when his creations were spread across different studio universes, Stan Lee cameos were the constant. Whether it is Sony's Spider-Man films, Fox's X-Men universe or Marvel's dominant Marvel Cinematic Universe, fans have been able to count on seeing Stan Lee making an appearance (and thus confirming the existence of a cinematic multiverse). Kevin Feige's post on Twitter that there are so many more cameos to come is a fun and exciting reminder that as long as he's around, we can expect to see Stan 'The Man' Lee honored with cameos in MCU films. We know that Stan Lee has already filmed his cameos for all of next year's MCU films, as well as Avengers 4. But with Phase 4 looming and some characters returning to the fold, it seems the folks at Marvel are already planning on creative and fun Stan Lee cameos for years to come.
Lest you think Kevin Feige is foisting these cameos on the nonagenarian, Stan Lee has spoken in the past about his love of getting to feel like an actor for a brief time. While his cameo in Avengers: Age of Ultron is his favorite comic book film cameo, his fun and important role in Kevin Smith's Mallrats is actually his favorite on screen appearance overall. It must be truly incredible and rewarding to see his work become so pervasive and everlasting. To live long enough to see technology able to finally capture what he imagined decades ago is incredible. Stan Lee's characters now have more fans than ever and the man himself is constantly immortalized alongside them with every cameo he makes.
What's so cool about these cameos is they not only honor the man himself but also the history of these characters. In a world of possible $1 billion budgets and Oscar hopes, it might be easy to forget that for decades these were just characters on a page written by a guy in room. Stan Lee is the living embodiment of comic book history and seems to be a genuinely great guy who is loved by stars and fans alike. Keep your eyes peeled for the name amongst names, Stan Lee, when Marvel's full slate of upcoming MCU films, hits theaters next year.
