Here's How Stan Lee Reacted When He Learned Fox Marvel Characters Were Coming Home

It goes without saying that Stan Lee has had a strange year, but it seems like he's in a happier place now that he's interacting with friends and colleagues more regularly.

The Marvel legend was visited by artist and X-Force creator Rob Liefeld for an afternoon hangout, where the two talked about Lee's love for the Deadpool movies. But Liefeld also informed him of the impending Fox and Disney deal, which will bring all but a few of the characters he helped create back under one cinematic roof.

Check it out on Liefeld's Instagram post below!

SUNDAY WITH STAN! Well, my Saturday, but your Sunday. Let’s get right to it, how great does @therealstanlee look in this photo?? He’s doing really, really well, his own words actually. I had the pleasure of sitting with him yesterday for an extended period and it was a delight. My visiting him was something that I was fortunate to have been extended by Stan’s family and friends a few weeks back, I told them to let me know the morning of, in case Stan was too tired or not feeling up to it. I got the call Friday and then Saturday a.m. to come on over. When I saw Stan, my heart soared, his color was great and his eyes were wider than I’d seen them in quite some time. He was vibrant and spry. I told him that everyone would be thrilled to see how good he was doing. That’s when he said “I’m doing well, tell them I’m doing well.” He said “Can you believe I’m 95 years old, Rob? I’m still here at 95, who would have thought?” I told him how traveling with him a few years back opened my eyes to the tremendous energy and stamina he possessed. I look at him as I do my mom, but 20 years older, he’s amazing. We talked of his moving to L.A. in the 70’s to set up Marvel properties in film and tv. I informed him that Disney was bringing the Fox family of Marvel characters home, that they’d be reunited and he settled back in his chair and he smiled “Thank you for telling me that.” We talked of his working with educators in the 70’s to carry comics in libraries, how my vocabulary was improved by his writing all that jargon for all the scientists he created, Tony Stark, Reed Richards and Hank Pym. Stan expressed his love of Deadpool, especially the film. He said, “I can’t believe all the X-rated stuff he gets away with.” I told him, that’s all @vancityreynolds 😂😂😂 We talked smart ass characters and how we’re all smart asses inside. I added that there is no Deadpool without Spider Man! There was much more, but the bottom line is, July 28, 2018, Stan was in great spirits and in great care. Thank you to Jon Bollerjack and the family for bringing me up. I was deeply moved and I’m so grateful to have shared time with him. #stanlee #marvel #spiderman #deadpool

A post shared by RobertLiefeld (@robliefeld) on Jul 29, 2018 at 3:14pm PDT

"I informed him that Disney was bringing the Fox family of Marvel characters home, that they'd be reunited and he settled back in his chair and smiled 'Thank you for telling me that.'"

In the late '80s and early '90s, Marvel was facing financial troubles and sold off the movie rights to its most popular franchises in order to stay afloat. After gaining back some steam, they then launched their own studio with the properties they still owned, though at the time Iron Man, Captain America, and the Avengers were not seen to be as lucrative as Spider-Man and the X-Men, which belonged elsewhere.

Well, over a decade and multiple billion dollar franchises later, Marvel Studios re-wrote the game and has since become the dominant purveyor of superhero movies. And now, they're getting access to most of their toys in the toy box.

The Walt Disney Company made a bid to acquire entertainment assets from 21st Century Fox late last year, and after a war with Comcast the media giant ended up on top. Last week, shareholders from both Fox and Disney approved the acquisition, which is expected to be finalized sometime in 2019.

This will effectively grant Disney ownership of many lucrative properties including The Simpsons, Avatar, and of course, the X-Men and the Fantastic Four movie rights.

Fox does have a few X-Men movies in the works, and they are all set to premiere in movie theaters in 2019, but there's no doubt that Marvel Studios boss Kevin Feige is already dreaming up ways to incorporate these fan-favorite characters into the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

Stan Lee helped create the X-Men, Spider-Man, the Fantastic Four, and popular Avengers characters like Iron Man and Thor. The fact that all of these characters will soon be able to interact on the big screen should be enticing for both Lee and many Marvel fans around the world.