Ever since Marvel’s theatrical releases first gained steam with 2000’s X-Men, fans have been treated to a series of blink-and-you’ll-miss-‘em cameos from longtime Marvel icon Stan Lee. Lee is, of course, best known for his work on the original Spider-man comics and appeared most recently in The Amazing Spider-man. Now, we have the lowdown on his part in Marvel’s next tentpole release.

According to Latino Review, Lee reported to the set of next summer’s Iron Man 3 earlier this week and will appear in the film in another trademark cameo. Scroll down if you want to know more, but it should be considered a MILD SPOILER.

In Iron Man 3, Lee will play the host of a beauty pageant, but the site didn’t offer any further details about the size of Lee’s role, or any indication of how, exactly, Tony Stark and company end up at a beauty pageant in the first place. With its plot reportedly centered on the Extremis storyline and Ben Kingsley long-rumored to play The MandarinIron Man 3 will already have a lot of ground to cover and won’t emerge as cluttered plot-wise as Iron Man 2.

A scene from Iron Man 3

Whether or not fans are still clamoring for Lee’s cameos, Marvel seems bound and determined to involve him in as many of their productions as possible. While his appearances typically serve to offer fun moments of comic relief, they could be considered superfluous, especially since Marvel has done a remarkable job of crafting an interconnected big-screen universe for its heroes. Still, Lee has established himself as a terrific spokesperson for Marvel’s films, and with the record-breaking success of The Avengers, Marvel has proven that it has a firm grasp on what fans want.

Expect the studio to shed some light on Iron Man 3 with their presence at Comic-Con this weekend. Word is that we’ll also get a clearer picture on how Phase Two of the studio’s Avengers initiative will play out. Anyone else hoping for official updates on Ant-Man and Black Panther?

Check back here for the latest Marvel scoop direct from Comic-Con.

Iron Man 3 is currently in production and is slated for release on May 3, 2013.

Source: Latino Review