Once the news broke that Stan Lee had passed away, the internet quickly flooded with tributes from stars and filmmakers who felt indebted to the writer for his unparalleled contributions to the superhero genre. And as a man whose career is utterly inseparable from the Marvel brand, it figures that Kevin Feige would be full of kind words for the legendary comic book creator.
The current Marvel Studios head met Lee on his first major film job as associate producer for 2000’s X-Men, for which Stan Lee would shoot the first in a long line of Marvel movie cameos. Since then, the pair have reunited many times, and in an interview with THR, Feige recalled how Lee would always bring some fresh energy to the on-set atmosphere.
“It would be a holiday on set, when he came to do this cameos. That’s how much he inspired people. Whether it was the beginning of the shoot, the middle, the end, the energy would skyrocket when he came on the set. Those are my strongest memories,” recalled Feige. “And as much as we and the audience love the cameos, Stan loved and was so proud of every one.”
Though Lee’s no longer with us, you can be sure that we haven’t seen the last of his traditional cameo appearances. With directors Anthony and Joe Russo explaining earlier this year that Lee’s scenes were shot in bulk, we expect to see the late publisher appear at least a couple more times on our screens in upcoming MCU releases like Captain Marvel and Avengers 4.
Speaking of the latter, though it’s a shame to think that Stan Lee won’t be around to see the MCU reach its point of culmination in next year’s Avengers: Infinity War sequel, it sounds like Lee was very happy with the great strides that Marvel Studios has made so far in adapting his ever-expanding comic book world to the screen. And as this superhero saga moves into its next phase, it’s clear that the writer will continue to leave his mark on pop culture in the years to come.