Stan Lee's Final Cameo In 'Avengers: Endgame' Explained By The Russo Brothers

Avengers: Endgame brings about the end of an era for the Marvel Cinematic Universe that started with Iron Man in 2008. But Stan Lee's passing in 2018 brought the end of an era that began all the way back in 1961. But fittingly, both eras are wrapped up in one final cameo from the comic book titan in Avengers: Endgame. The 22nd film in the MCU was the site of Stan Lee's final cameo, directors Anthony and Joe Russo confirmed, putting to bed rumors that he had shot footage for this summer's upcoming Spider-Man: Far From Home. With the release of the record-shattering film, Russo brothers explained what went into the Stan Lee Avengers Endgame cameo, and why it played out like it did.Spoilers for Avengers: Endgame below.

Before his death at 95 last November, Stan Lee shot several cameos that would keep the comic book titan alive in our minds long after he passed. But only Avengers: Endgame would keep him young forever.

Lee appears during the sequence at the 1970s S.H.I.E.L.D. headquarters, where Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) and Steve Rogers (Chris Evans) have arrived in the midst of their time heist to get one more chance at grabbing the Tesseract. While they are scrambling to not get caught, Lee zooms by in white muscle car, with a beautiful lady by his side and a groovy bumper sticker on the back declaring "'Nuff said." It was one of Lee's catchphrases from his messages to readers of Marvel Comics.

It's a hilarious and lighthearted cameo that comes complete with Steppenwolf's "Hey Lawdy Mama" blaring and a de-aging effect that takes Lee back to his '70s appearance. "It seemed like fun when we originally had the idea, before Stan passed," Joe Russo told Entertainment Weekly. "Oh, what did Stan look like in the '70s?" Luckily, with Lee's glorious mustache and flowing hair, it wasn't too difficult for the Russo brothers to cast him as a free-loving hippie, Russo added:

"It's sort of the hippie era, and Stan's cameoing as a hippie and it's the free-love era. He's saying, 'Make love, not war!'"

Though most fans known Lee now as an amiable white-haired man, it takes no time at all to recognize Lee beneath the shiny de-aging effects, which have improved tremendously since Marvel first began testing them out in Ant-Man. Lee looks inarguably like himself, and having a blast with it. It gives a sweet finality to the cameo, which Joe and Anthony are still shocked they got to feature in their film.

"It's the last Stan Lee cameo that made it to film," Joe said to EW.