Stan Lee Died Before Seeing ‘Ralph Breaks the Internet’ Cameo

The late Stan Lee is the unquestionable king of cameos, giving Alfred Hitchcock a run for his money. Fans will next be able to see the Marvel Comics legend in Disney’s Ralph Breaks the Internet. Unfortunately, Lee himself was not able to watch the film and passed away before seeing one of his final cameos.

The Wreck-It Ralph sequel co-director Rick Moore spoke with TheWrap, revealing that Lee did not see the scene in which he runs into Sarah Silverman’s character Vanellope while exploring a Disney-themed area.

“He did not see it,” Moore said. “That scene seems very poignant now on his passing, and it’s very special that we were able to have him as part of our film.”

Co-director Phil Johnston spoke about a different idea they had for Lee, detailing an extended sequence that would honor his Marvel legacy.

“For a moment, we had this thing called ‘Marvelize Yourself,’ where the human avatar is able to go through what looks like a metal detector and turn into a Marvel character,” Johnston said. “And as part of that scene, we had Stan Lee go through the Marvelizer. But when we decided to lose that joke and not use the scene, we still wanted to have Stan Lee in the movie, because we love Stan Lee.”

“And we thought it would be appropriate that he does a Stan Lee-type cameo,” added Moore.

Lee passed away at the age of 95 earlier this week, causing an immense outpour of tributes and memories from many people who worked and interacted with him over his historic career.

Marvel released a video paying tribute to the late legend, which included a clip of Lee himself speaking to the camera from an old 1968 television program.

“I’m Stan Lee. I have been writing stories for the young generation for the past 30 years,” Lee said. “During this time I think I’ve learned a lot about what young people think. More importantly, I think I’ve learned a lot about what young people are. We’re going to try to present a voice that somebody will listen to. The voice is needed. We hope it will be ours.”

Marvel’s Chief Creative Officer Joe Quesada spoke about an interaction he had in the past, highlighting Lee’s warmth as a human.

“Stan was doing these panels and they asked me to just come up and say hi,” Quesada said. “I felt a little goofy but I came up and shook his hand. I think the microphone caught it but I whispered in his ear, I said ‘hey, they just wanted me to come up here and shake your hand, but while I’m up here I want to say thank you, you saved my life.’ Because the life that I have today, there’s a direct line to that first comic book to here.”

Stan Lee can be seen in Ralph Breaks the Internet, premiering in theaters on November 21st.