Stan Lee’s cameo in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 will go down as one of his best ever. If you need reminding or haven’t seen it yet (and don’t care about spoilers), it saw Stan the Man as an elderly astronaut chatting with some Watchers about the time he was a “Federal Express agent” (as seen in Captain America: Civil War). What’s so great about it is that it confirms a long-running fan theory: that Lee is playing the same character in every cameo. It turns out it could have been even more special, though, as it nearly broke down the doors of the Marvel multiverse.
In a live Q&A video on his official Facebook page, director James Gunn revealed that unused takes of the scene referenced other previous cameos from Lee. Including one which would have blown our minds.
“On the day with Stan, what I did was I just kept yelling out different things that he had done in the different cameos, including “I was a DJ at a strip club”, which is what he was in Deadpool, which I thought would have been interesting because it would have slightly linked the Fox and MCU universes.”
Gunn doesn’t mention why this version of the scene wasn’t used, so it’s up to us to fill in the blanks here. Did legal issues prevent even a mini-crossover such as this from happening? Or was it simply that the Civil War take was the cleanest? Whatever the reason, it’s a shame the Deadpool easter egg wasn’t in the movie. If there’s one thing that comic book movie fans love, it’s crossovers of all sizes, both large and small.
For more from Gunn, you can watch the video via the link below. The talk turns to the Stan Lee cameo at around about the 50 minute mark, but the whole Q&A is full of interesting insights into his creative decisions and should clear up any lingering questions you might have about the film. We definitely suggest giving it a watch in full.
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 is currently showing in theatres worldwide and is enjoying a smash-hit box office run – as expected.
