Stan Lee‘s iconic Marvel Cinematic Universe cameo could make a comeback with the help of CGI and old footage.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, Marvel has signed a 20-year deal with Genius Brands International and POW! Entertainment’s joint venture Stan Lee Universe. This gives Marvel the right to license the likeness of Stan Lee in future films and TV productions and experiences worldwide, such as Disney theme parks, however it has not been confirmed if they will utilize this agreement to bring back his cameos.
“We are proud to be the stewards of the incredibly valuable rights to Stan Lee’s name, likeness, merchandise, and intellectual property brand,” said Andy Heyward, Chairman & CEO of Genius Brands. “It really ensures that Stan, through digital technology and archival footage and other forms, will live in the most important venue, the Marvel movies, and Disney theme parks. It’s a broad deal.”
As Screen Rant points out, it wouldn’t be the first time Disney were to try bringing a late actor with CGI. The company previously tried to bring back Carrie Fisher and Peter Cushing’s Leia and Grand Moff Tarkin with the help of CGI for Rogue One: A Star Wars Story and Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker. Questions about ethics brought a mixed-to-negative response from fans and critics, however some filmmakers have chosen to ignore the controversy and continue the trend of bringing late actors back into films with the help of CGI.
Lee co-created many iconic Marvel characters; his involvement in MCU wasn’t exclusively due to the use of his comic book character as the creator. He soon became cherished for his cameo appearances in every MCU title, including various Marvel adaptations such as Sony’s Spider-Man franchise and Fox’s X-Men sequels. Lee, unfortunately, passed away at the age of 95 in 2018. Thankfully, he managed to film several cameos before his passing, posthumously featuring in Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, Captain Marvel and Avengers: Endgame.
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