Captain Marvel directors Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck spoke with Mashable on the subject of the movie's embedded tributes to Stan Lee. Thankfully, the production schedule allowed for the Marvel don to make a final on-screen appearance, but before I go there, let me give you fair warning: this post contains SPOILER CONTENT up ahead.
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The first tribute takes place during an in-film sequence where Brie Larson's character lands on the Planet Earth in search of a shapeshifting Skrull, but instead finds a pedestrian Stan Lee lurking about. But this isn't just any cameo, Boden and Flex ensured that it was divinely conceived, by adding a meta element to the script. Larson glances over at Lee as he practices his lines for the 1995 cult film Mallrats. It just so happens Captain Marvel is set in the year 1995, the same year Kevin Smith unveiled Mallrats in our continuum.
But it doesn't stop there, as Larson passes Lee in the passenger department of a train, the Marvel creator cracks a smile and mutters, "Trust me, true believer," before the heroine jets off to the races.
"The Marvel logo was a Marvel thing that they presented to us," Fleck told Mashable. "They said, 'Hey guys, what do you think of this? We were thinking of doing this for the movie.'"
The above quote from director Ryan Fleck explains the other tributes that figure in the film: the usual Marvel intro is modified to include a short reel of Stan Lee's previous cameos. Hope this adds an element of excitement to the film's release.