Stan Lee cameos have become a mainstay in the Marvel movies, and it appears as though he’s already gotten a jump on his roles in a number of films ahead. The 93-year-old comics legend made his first cameo appearance in 2000’s X-Men, a film that served as one of the godfathers of the modern superhero genre and on which current Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige worked as an associate producer. Lee has gone on to cameo in 26 feature films thus far, including every single one of the Marvel Cinematic Universe movies. And it appears that streak has no end in sight, as he’s already banked cameos for upcoming films.

Collider’s own Tommy Cook was in attendance at a special screening of Captain America: Civil War in Los Angeles over the weekend, where Feige revealed that Lee has already shot cameos for four upcoming Marvel Cinematic Universe films:

“We do not shoot random ones. They’re always specific. A couple of months ago in Atlanta, [Lee] flew down and we shot four in one day — for four various projects. They’re all awesome! They’re all totally different. And he was unbelievable. He was on fire. He came in, he sat here, he stood there, he stood in this window, and then he went home.”


stan-lee-captain-america
Image via Marvel

While the studio used to shoot quite a bit in London, Atlanta has quickly become Marvel Studios’ base of production with the construction of the new Pinewood Atlanta facilities. Not only does it give them more stage space, but it’s also much closer to Los Angeles, making the prospect of flying someone like Robert Downey Jr. to and from set less inconvenient.

Of course, given that Lee is 93 years old, one imagines he’s not crazy about flying to Atlanta every 6 months or so to shoot a cameo for a new movie, so banking a lot in one trip is a smart idea. Which movies did he shoot cameos for? Well, probably the next four on Marvel’s docket: Doctor Strange, Guardians of the Galaxy, Vol. 2, Spider-Man: Homecoming, and Thor: Ragnarok. Of course Guardians 2 wrapped earlier this year, Thor is in production in Australia, and Spider-Man is about to wrap filming but this nifty thing called "green screen technology" allows them to just insert Lee’s cameo wherever it’s meant to fit.

Lee’s cameos started out as delightful little nods to this comics giant, but have quickly become more like obligations—and distracting ones at that. Every screening of a new Marvel movie now has that tepid applause break for Lee’s cameo, most of which are not all that funny and only serve to take you out of the film. But this Debbie Downer mentality of mine could very well be a minority opinion.

What say you, folks? Stan Lee Cameos: Are they still funny or are you over them? Sound off in the comments below. And look for our full coverage of the Civil War screening and Q&A on Collider soon.

mcu-timeline-explained
Image via Marvel
guardians-of-the-galaxy-2-cast-image
Image via Marvel Studios