[THIS ARTICLE CONTAINS SPOILERS OF SPIDER-MAN: NO WAY HOME]

ScreenRant has reported on a detail present in the screenplay of Spider-Man: No Way Home. The film was originally going to feature a Stan Lee lookalike as a nod to the original co-creator of Spider-Man.

Spider-Man first appeared in the comic book Amazing Fantasy #15, which was printed in 1962. This comic was written by Lee and illustrated by the other co-creator of Spider-Man, Steve Ditko. Lee is also credited with the creation of Iron Man, Black Widow, the Incredible Hulk, Black Panther and many more.

Lee’s status as a pop-culture figure is forever cemented for making cameo appearances in Marvel films. Lee’s cameos served as an easter egg for fans to look out for. It was common to hear “When is Stan Lee gonna show up?” before sitting down in the theater to watch the latest Marvel film. Lee passed away November 12th, 2018 at the age of 95. After Lee’s death the tradition of Stan Lee cameos in Marvel films came to an end. Lee’s final cameo was in Avengers: Endgame, which was released in 2019.

The script for Spider-Man: No Way Home has been circulating online due to the script being made public as the film campaigns for an Academy Award nomination. One of its final scenes features MJ, played by Zendaya, interacting with an older customer referred to in the script as a “Stan Lee lookalike.” In the film, MJ does interact with an older customer in this scene but the customer does not bear a resemblance to Lee.

Spider-Man: No Way Home brought together three film iterations of the character. Tom Holland, Tobey Maguire, and Andrew Garfield all appear in the film as the titular character. Lee had made cameos in previous films alongside each of these Spider-Man actors. Lee’s presence in Marvel movies has been dearly missed by fans since his passing in 2018, but his influence lives on in the characters he brought to life.