Last November, longtime Marvel Comics heavyweight Stan Lee died at 95, and needless to say it was a heavy blow to the world of comic book media fandom. That said, it didn’t mark the last time we’d see him since months before his passing, Lee filmed/recorded several more of his trademark cameos, including his quick scene in Captain Marvel, which hit theaters this past weekend. Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige has now clarified that there are still a few Lee cameos left to be shown to the masses. When asked if Lee will appear in Spider-Man: Far From Home, Feige responded:
We'll see. We're heading-- We shot a couple of others, so we're coming up on the last of them, yes.
Avengers: Endgame co-director Joe Russo said shortly after Stan Lee died that the comic book icon did shoot something for Endgame, as it was grouped together with various other MCU cameos that Lee shot during a short period. That said, it’s been unclear if Lee shot anything from Spider-Man: Far From Home, and Feige’s comment to ET is cagey in that regard. That said, an Endgame cameo is definitely on the table, and the fact that Feige said “the last of them” indicates that there’s more than just one cameo to look forward to.
Spider-Man: Far From Home filmed from last July to October in England, New York and several other countries. Stan Lee wasn’t able to travel much in his final years, but as with his other recent cameos, presumably it would have been easy enough to get him to a movie set in California where he could shoot something quick for Far From Home. Nothing’s official yet, but I’m guessing that it’s likelier than not that Lee will have some presence in the next live action Spider-Man movie, whether it’s on screen like all his other past MCU contributions or if he was only able to record a vocal cameo, like what he did for last December’s Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, where he played a shopkeeper who interacted with Miles Morales.
Stan Lee already had an extensive cameo resume even before the MCU launched with Iron Man in 2008, but in that particular franchise, he was a regular fixture, with Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 revealing that he was actually the same character who was keeping tabs on things around Earth and other areas of the galaxy on behalf of The Watchers. Sadly, all things must come to an end, and either Avengers: Endgame or Spider-Man: Far From Home will mark his last film appearance. That said, future MCU movies could take a cue from the Marvel Netflix shows and include a picture of Lee in tribute to the man who helped make Marvel the powerhouse company it is today.
Warning: SPOILERS for Captain Marvel are ahead!
Along with being his second or third-to-last MCU cameo, Captain Marvel was also special for Stan Lee because he was basically playing himself. While Carol Danvers was aboard a train searching for a disguised Skrull, she passed by Lee, who was practicing his lines for Mallrats, Kevin Smith’s second movie which, where Lee had a small, but important role. That movie came out in 1995, the same year Captain Marvel was set. Danvers studied Lee for a moment and then gave a smirk when she realized that he was 100% human.
But that wasn’t the only way that Captain Marvel paid tribute to Stan Lee. The Marvel Studios intro also replaced artwork and clips of its various superheroes with Stan Lee’s various cameos in this franchise over the last decade. Kevin Feige explained how shortly after Lee died, he and others at Marvel Studios were figuring out how to honor Lee and whether it should be something that’s part of a movie or released online. They eventually decided on the former, and rather than attach something “depressing at the end,” Feige settled on something “touching and rousing up front,” hence that heartwarming intro. Feige continued.
I know that, not specifically but in general, a celebration is what Stan always wanted as opposed to any sort of mournful event. So, it happened very, very quickly soon after we got the unfortunate news.. We put that together and our visual development department, led by Ryan Meinerding, illustrated all those illustrations of him that you see, before we then go into the clips.
We may only have a few more Stan Lee appearances left, but because of what the man accomplished through his long life, his characters will live on for decades more. Although Stan Lee didn’t have a hand in creating Carol Danvers, writer Roy Thomas and artist Gene Colan have that honor), he did co-create (with Colan) her comics predecessor, Mar-Vell, who was portrayed by Annette Bening in the Captain Marvel movie.
Captain Marvel was the first MCU movie of 2019, but there’s a lot more to look forward to this year. In less than two months, Avengers: Endgame will pick up where Avengers: Infinity War left off, with half of all life in the universe being wiped out by Thanos and his Infinity Stones-powered fingers. Marvel is still keeping tight-lipped about specific plot details, but we can at least look forward to the surviving heroes banding together to defeat Thanos and undo his genocide. Carol Danvers will be part of this group, and the Captain Marvel mid-credits scene showed her arriving at New Avengers base questioning where Nick Fury was, as before turning to dust, the former S.H.I.E..L.D. director summoned her using his spruced-up pager.
Then in July, Spider-Man: Far From Home will kick off Phase 4 with Peter Parker traveling to Europe over summer vacation. Unfortunately, Peter won’t get a break from his superhero lifestyle during this trip, as Nick Fury will recruit him to fight the Elementals alongside Quentin Beck, a.k.a. Mysterio. Since Spider-Man was arguably Lee’s most famous creation, it would be a shame if Far From Home didn’t involve him in some way, so fingers crossed that gets to be his final cameo.
Don’t forget to read CinemaBlend’s review of Captain Marvel, and stay tuned for more updates on the MCU. Avengers: Endgame hits theaters on April 26 and Spider-Man: Far From Home follows on July 5. You can also find out what non-Marvel movies are coming out this year by looking through our 2019 release schedule.
