Stan Lee and 'Spider-Man' Director Sam Raimi Failed to Pitch a Thor Movie

The Thor franchise is an important and successful part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe these [...]

The Thor franchise is an important and successful part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe these days, but there was a time when the idea of the God of Thunder having his own movie wasn't received well -- even with Stan Lee himself involved.

Lee died on Monday, and Spider-Man director Sam Raimi opened up to The Hollywood Reporter about some of his most cherished memories of Lee, including one about the time the pair pitched a Thor movie and were shot down by the studio.

"After I did Darkman, Stan Lee called me and was like, 'Hey, kid, I liked your movie,'" Raimi said. "He took me out to lunch and said we should work together. I said I'd like to make a movie about Thor. We worked together writing treatments and took it to Fox and pitched it. And they said, 'Absolutely no. Comic books don't make good movies.' This was in 1991."

As Marvel fans know, Fox was wrong. The Marvel Cinematic Universe is one of the biggest film franchises in history, and Avengers 4 is one of the most eagerly anticipated movies of all time. It will also include a cameo from Lee that had already been filmed. But when it came to a cameo for Spider-Man, Raimi wasn't exactly on board.

"I got the job for Spider-Man in 1999. And [Marvel head] Avi Arad said, 'I want you to put Stan in the movie.' And I was like, 'No. I know Stan, and he can't act,'" Raimi wrote. "And Avi was, 'I want him in the movie. We did it for X-Men, we're doing it here.' Now imagine you're a minor director in England doing Macbeth and you're told, 'Put the writer in the play.' It sounds absurd. 'Fine, you want Shakespeare in the play, I'll put Shakespeare in the play.' Now it's one of my favorite parts in the movie."

In the scene, the Green Goblin attacks the World Unity Fair and attempts to kill the Oscorp board members in attendance. But his assault ends up causing a lot of damage to the surroundings, potentially injuring the public. Stan Lee is seen panicking, but he manages to regain his composure and save a young child standing nearby.

Lee went on to be featured in a number of cameos across various Marvel movies, including one in the upcoming Ralph Breaks the Internet that, sadly, Lee did not get to see before he died.

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