After making a massive contribution to Marvel Comics’ success, Stan Lee was widely famous for making cameos in the Marvel movies. He had been a part of all the projects, from Spider-Man and X-Men to all the MCU movies. One of his most memorable appearances was in Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man 3. However, Lee once said that he wanted his cameo to have more than one line.
The Tobey Maguire starrer Spider-Man 3 had an iconic cameo appearance by the late comic book legend, where he said the iconic “one person can make a difference” dialogue. Interestingly, there’s more to the story behind the iconic cameo than many fans know. Sam Raimi didn’t even want to write the cameo initially in his Spider-Man trilogy, but later, his thought process changed.
Stan Lee wanted to have more than one line in Spider-Man 3
Before Stan Lee‘s unfortunate demise on November 2018 at the age of 95, his cameos were one of the most hyped-up parts of the Marvel movies. The fans eagerly waited for a glimpse of him. The cameos, which were started as a joke in the Marvel comics, continued into cartoons and movies as well. The late comic book writer admitted that he enjoyed the cameos, especially the funny ones.
While talking about his cameo appearance in Spider-Man 3, Stan Lee claimed that he wanted to have more than one line in the movie. In the Spider-Man 3 cameo, we spotted the late Head of Marvel Comics saying an important dialogue to Tobey Maguire’s Peter Parker “One person can make a difference. Enough said.”
In a video posted by Marvel Facts on X, we could see Stan Lee talking about the scene where he said:
“I think Sam came up with the idea. I mean obviously if I had come with the idea, it would have been more than one line.”
Tobey Maguire, Sam Raimi, and Stan Lee on the set of ‘Spider-Man 3’ 🕷️ pic.twitter.com/ibPcU4H7yr
— Marvel Facts (@MarveIFacts) December 28, 2023
Now, although fans could never imagine any Marvel movie without Stan Lee, Sam Raimi was not a fan of his acting. The director openly admitted that he didn’t want Lee initially in Spider-Man and only did so at the demand of the studio.
How did Sam Raimi’s thoughts on Stan Lee change with time?
It is surprising to the fans how the Evil Dead filmmaker was initially reluctant to write a scene for Stan Lee. The director opened up to The Hollywood Reporter, where he claimed that he didn’t want to listen to Avi Arad at first. Avi Arad, who was the then Head of Marvel, was clear that Lee needed to have a scene – “I want him in the movie. We did it for X-Men, we’re doing it here.”
Sam Raimi was of the notion that the cameo star wasn’t an actor and compared the situation to a minor director asked to place William Shakespeare in a play of Macbeth. However, things took a quick turn after it was filmed. Raimi’s thoughts changed, and instead, it turned into one of his favorite parts of the movie.
It can’t be denied that Stan Lee’s unfortunate going still feels like a personal loss to us. Following Avengers: Endgame, we didn’t spot him in any of the Marvel projects, and it is indeed one of the major missing factors from the recently released movies and shows.
