Bad news super fans and true believers - Marvel Comics legend Stan Lee has announced that he will not in fact make an appearance in the upcoming Guardians of the Galaxy movie from Marvel studios. As many fans will know, the famous comic-book personality has made a cameo appearance in almost every single movie based on a Marvel comic-book to date.
Lee has appeared in various forms throughout the Marvel cinematic universe as a mailman, security guard, hot dog vendor, and decorated army veteran. He has had his life saved from walking into traffic by a young Daredevil, moved young women out of the way of falling debris in Spider-Man and was shocked to see half his neighborhood floating in X-Men: Last Stand. However, 91-year-old Stan the Man won't be in Guardians of the Galaxy not because his film cameo career is over, but because he doesn't feel comfortable appearing with a set of characters he didn't have a hand in creating.
When asked on the Dweebcast episode, featured below, if he would be in the new film, Lee responded: "No, I'm afraid not, that's the one group I didn't create. I didn't write Guardians of the Galaxy. I'm not even sure who they all are. I can't wait to see the movie." The quote occurs around 2:35 in the podcast video.
While it may seem like dramatic news that Lee will not be in a Marvel movie, it's worth noting that this is not his first time being absent in a comic-book flick. He will generally only appear in a film if he had a hand in creating the characters. This explains why he was not featured in any of the Punisher or Ghost Rider movies.
Logistics of getting the man in a cameo position have also stopped him on occasion. Lee did not appear in X-Men: First Class or The Wolverine either. It's unclear at this time, although doubtful, that Lee will not appear in future comic-book-based movies that he had a hand in creating. Perhaps he'll be back in some new form for the Avengers 2: Age of Ultron.
Guardians of the Galaxy is set to open on Aug. 1, 2014.
