Rewatching The Fantastic Four: First Steps on Disney+ just makes it clear that Stan Lee’s new Marvel Cinematic Universe is even more impactful than I first thought. Stan Lee is the face of Marvel Comics after all the characters and storylines that he brought to life. That is why the MCU movie timeline is full of Stan Lee cameos.
Marvel Studios made sure to honor Lee while he was alive, with the comic book creator having a lot of fun playing the most varied types of characters in his cameos. Now, even after Lee’s death, he is present in the MCU’s 2025 movie slate. With The Fantastic Four: First Steps‘ arrival on Disney+, rewatching the film makes me appreciate Stan Lee’s cameo even more.
Stan Lee Has A Special Cameo In The Fantastic Four: First Steps
Stan Lee and Jack Kirby from the back looking at Silver Surfer in The Fantastic Four: First Steps
Stan Lee does not appear in the MCU Fantastic Four movie through archival footage or CGI, nor is he the face of another character in the franchise. Instead, what Marvel Studios does in the 2025 film is cast a new actor to play Lee himself. Greg Haiste plays a young Stan Lee in The Fantastic Four: First Steps.
He is joined by Martin Dickinson, who gives life to a young Jack Kirby in the scene. Lee and Kirby’s collaborations at Marvel Comics were fundamental for the company’s growth, with Kirby finally being honored in a huge way by the MCU, given that he died in 1994, over a decade before the MCU came to be, thus not making cameos like Lee.
The Fantastic Four: First Steps sees Lee and Kirby appear when Julia Garner’s Silver Surfer comes to New York City, with Joseph Quinn’s Human Torch hot on her tail. It homages Stan Lee and Jack Kirby’s role in creating the Fantastic Four, as the duo is seen in their office, with the Timely Comics (Marvel’s original name) logo on the wall and comic book art around the room.
Why Stan Lee’s New MCU Cameo Hit Harder For Me When Rewatching The Fantastic Four: First Steps
Stan Lee and Jack Kirby in their office looking outside in The Fantastic Four: First Steps
Stan Lee and Jack Kirby’s MCU cameo was already emotional when I watched The Fantastic Four: First Steps in theaters, with the 1960s aesthetic matching when the duo created the team in the comics. However, upon rewatching the MCU Fantastic Four movie on Disney+, seeing what they are doing in the scene and the context behind it made me appreciate their cameo even more.
Stan Lee and Jack Kirby stop what they are doing to look out the window at the Silver Surfer and the Human Torch. The scene is all about the duo seeing their creations gain life outside, with Lee and Kirby watching on. Given how excited Stan Lee always was about Marvel adaptations, it is heartbreaking that the duo could not watch The Fantastic Four: First Steps.
The movie stays true to the characters, being a faithful representation of Lee and Kirby’s early Fantastic Four stories. While I wish they could have been alive to watch this version of the Fantastic Four, the cameo serves that role in a heartfelt way. It is a more personal cameo than many of Lee’s splashier MCU appearances, making The Fantastic Four: First Steps special.
Release Date
July 25, 2025
Runtime
115 minutes
Director
Matt Shakman
Writers
Jeff Kaplan, Josh Friedman, Ian Springer, Eric Pearson, Kat Wood, Jack Kirby, Stan Lee
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Reed Richards / Mister Fantastic
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Vanessa Kirby
Sue Storm / Invisible Woman
