As the creator ofSpider-Man, it is not surprising that Marvel legend Stan Lee had his own thoughts about how his most famous creation was brought to the big screen bySam Raimiin 2002. According to producer Avi Arad, despite the massive box office success of the movie, there was something about the groundbreaking special effects used to bring the web-slinger to life that initially disappointedStan Lee.
While it may seem unbelievable that Lee would have any issue with the final product, his disappointment appears to have stemmed from him not being quite as tech-savvy as those in the business of CGI effects to know that he was only being shown pre-viz effects at the time. Of course, it is widely known now that pre-viz footage is a rough cut of a scene that will then be fully rendered and end up looking like the images we are used to seeing on cinema screens. Seeing that was a whole other experience for Lee. DiscussingSpider-Manon its 20th anniversary withVariety, Arad explained:
“One of the greatest moments of Spider-Man was showing Stan Lee for the first time the CGI of Spider-Man flying. I’m looking at him, and he was like an uncle, you know? And he whispers in my ear, “That’s it?” And then I realized he doesn’t know it’s pre-viz. He was new to the technology side of things. He was so disappointed! I almost cried! I said, “Stan, the world’s never seen anything like it.” “Yeah, but it doesn’t look cool.” I told him, “Don’t worry. It will be great.” Anyhow, when he saw it finished, he had a bunch of tears in his eyes, because that’s his baby.”
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Stan Lee Watched His Creations Become Bigger and Better Over the Decades
When it comes to the world of Marvel Comics, Stan Lee stood as the face of the company in so many ways. As the co-creator of many of Marvel’s biggest heroes, Lee was never too far away from his creations’ on-screen iterations, which saw him making cameo appearances in almost every Marvel TV series and movie from the late 80s onwards. Thanks to the enormous leaps in technology, Lee was able to see dozens of his characters come together in the Marvel Cinematic Universe before his death in 2018.
As one of the characters co-created by Lee, it would have been a whole new level for him to have lived to see Doctor Strange play out his role inAvengers: Endgame, join up with many of Lee’s creations inSpider-Man: No Way Homeand then become embroiled in many universes inDoctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. Yes, despite all of the impressive spectacles that have come to screen in the last two decades from Marvel, it is hard to imagine that anything would quite have matched the first time he saw Spider-Man swing out across New York City in his original 2002 big-screen movie.
