The MCU's Stan Lee cameos acted as a continuous running joke across Phases 1 to 3, but there are some scenes that didn’t make their films' final cuts. Up until Avengers: Endgame, Lee had cameoed in every one of the franchise’s entries, generally in a purely comical capacity. Following the Marvel writer’s ing in 2018, Lee has not appeared in any MCU Phase 4 projects, appearing posthumously in both Captain Marvel and Avengers: Endgame.
Renowned for the creation of some of the studio’s most popular characters, Lee’s cameos consistently provided a respectful nod to the man behind the franchise’s success. This was capitalized in the first MCU project to follow Lee’s death, Captain Marvel, which opened with the writer’s cameos being used on the Marvel Studios’ logo followed by a message that reads “Thank you Stan." Although these appearances mark a common trend in most of the MCU releases, this is not to suggest that the studio has always settled on the cameos’ original form.
Indeed, in the case of Stan Lee cameos, there are two instances in the MCU in which the writer’s initial appearance was cut and replaced by an alternative sequence. These instances can be found in both Guardians of the Galaxy, where another Stan Lee cameo was filmed before being eventually cut. Be it a matter of pacing or comical timing, these cut appearances do not serve to taint the writer’s recurring onscreen roles, but rather show that there are more Lee cameos out there than initially meet the eye.
The first Stan Lee cameo to be shot and cut came in The Avengers. Lee already holds one cameo in the film – commenting on the heroes’ actions in the Battle of New York newsreel in the final act – but this was not initially the sequence that the film was going to use. Instead of playing the disbelieving man on the street, Stan Lee also appears in a deleted scene in which, after seeing a waitress flirt with Steve Rogers, Lee reacts, “Ask for her number you moron!” Very much in the style of Lee’s other appearances, this cut sequence relies on the writer’s trademark wit and dry delivery – though each of these can nonetheless be found in the cameo that made it into the final cut.
The only other instance in which a Stan Lee cameo changed during the production process was on Guardians of the Galaxy. Confirming the cut sequence on his Instagram, director James Gunn explained that the cameo originally found Lee in one of the Collector’s display cases, explaining, “In one take, Stan Lee just slowly turns up his finger, flipping off Groot.” Gunn eventually decided to cut the sequence due to how it changed the beats of the scene and its comical repetition of a similar joke performed by Peter Quill on examination from the Nova Corps. Instead, Lee’s cameo sees the writer on Xandar spotted talking to a younger woman by Rocket, who then exclaims, “Look at Mr. Smiles over here. Where’s your wife old man?”
Appearing in the first 22 consecutive Marvel films, Stan Lee cameos have become a defining trait of the franchise. Having gained the rights to use Stan Lee’s likeness in future projects, it is not out of the question that a look-alike could appear in the MCU’s future – in fact, one was scripted for the final act of Spider-Man: No Way Home, though the sequence was never shot. Whether the prolific writer returns to the franchise in some way remains to be seen, but the cameos continue to serve as a reminder of how Stan Lee helped to make the MCU what it is today.
