Doctor Strange is almost upon us, and that can only mean another Stan Lee cameo to add to the collection.
As is tradition for every new Marvel release – be it the Amazing Spider-Man series or the core MCU movies – the legendary comic book scribe will swing by at some point in Scott Derrickson’s mystical origin story, but it turns out Derrickson wasn’t actually the director calling the shots behind the lens.
Instead, that responsibility fell to Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 helmer James Gunn, who shot four of Lee’s upcoming cameos one after the other. Here’s what Derrickson told Entertainment Weekly: “It’s a big deal for a 93-year-old man to go to a movie set and spend a day shooting. James shot four cameos with Stan in one day. James was texting me the frame. Does this look right? Does this look good?”
That means Gunn choreographed Stan Lee cameos across Strange, Guardians 2 and Spider-Man: Homecoming and, in a move that is about as inevitable as Stan Lee cropping up in a Marvel movie, the likeable director took to Facebook to shed more light on the topic at hand.
And it was definitely one of the most fun times I’ve ever had on set. There are few people in this world I love and admire more and have more fun with than Stan Lee. Even though he does love breaking my, and everyone else’s balls (I introduced him to Tom Holland for the first time and he said, “Everyone says you’re great! Personally, I don’t see it.”). Although, to be honest, I think I only did THREE cameos – one was shot by someone else. And my third probably isn’t what you think it is…
If you’ve seen the Doctor Strange cameo, it was one of MANY versions I shot on the day, and Scott Derrickson chose the final one. If I’m writing for Stan, why give him one line when I can give him a thousand? I just kept throwing lines at him one after the other, until we were all doubled over with laughter. Someday, after you’ve seen the movie, maybe Marvel Studios will let me share some of those with you. And hopefully you’ll see the movie next week – in IMAX, where it’s definitely best seen!
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 is booked in for theatrical release on May 5, 2017.