The late Marvel Comics legends Stan Lee almost had a different cameo in Sony’s Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse. Lee, who created Spider-Man with artist Steve Ditko, has appeared in a cameo role in every Spider-Man movie (MCU or otherwise) and nearly every other Marvel movie. Lee’s appearances in Marvel movies have been a small but recurring feature that have helped link them together since before the Marvel Cinematic Universe was even a concept. The animated Spider-Verse movie is no different.

Spider-Verse wasn’t Lee’s first animated cameo. He previously appeared in Marvel’s Spider-Man for PS4. Even if Lee’s cameo in Spider-Verse wasn’t in the flesh, it might have been one of the most heartwarming as Lee’s character helps to pass the torch to new Spider-Man, Miles Morales. However, the tone of Lee's scene could’ve been a lot different and meaner.

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In an interview with IndieWire, Spider-Verse co-director Rodney Rothman discussed how the movie incorporated Lee before his death in November. In the final cut of the movie, Lee plays a costume shop owner who sells Miles Morales his first Spider-Man suit. Rothman said of the scene:

The thing that was interesting for us is that it evolved. We recorded it a year ago and it was not that long after his wife [Joan] had passed away. We had versions that tried a little harder to be funnier and tried a little harder to be harder. What ended up in the movie were the lines that had the most meaning to him.

In the movie, Lee’s character offers words of encouragement to a very confused Miles and tells him that his new Spider-Man suit will fit. "It always fits ... eventually,” Lee tells Miles with a knowing smile. This line sets up Miles later taking the mantle of Spider-Man and being mentored by an alternate universe version of Peter Parker. Evidently in the original script, Lee’s line was a lot harsher. Rather than assuring Miles at all, Lee’s character stated that the suit “never fits.” This line was changed during the recording session to its final version.

If Spider-Verse had kept the original Lee cameo, it wouldn't have changed the movie radically. Miles Morales is told by several characters throughout the film that'll he'll measure up to the legacy of Spider-Man and/or be as good as Peter Parker. The original line would've fit into that plot. There's also a very good chance that the line could've come off as more of a joke than it sounds, as Lee did have some terrific comedic timing in his many, many cameos.

The final line does ultimately work better for Into the Spider-Verse. Lee's encouragement molds much better with the movie's overall hopeful and friendly tone. It's also very fitting in terms of Lee's legacy as a whole. If Into the Spider-Verse isn't Stan Lee's final cameo in a Spider-Man movie it'll definitely be one of his final appearances. It makes far for more sense for Lee to pass the torch to a new Spider-Man than to make a cynical joke about the suit never fitting.

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Source: IndieWire