10 Great Stan Lee Cameos Not In Marvel Movies
4. The Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement
Definitely one of the more WTF Stan Lee cameos, the sequel to the Anne Hathaway teen princess comedy has no obvious connection to comic books, superheroes or geek culture in general, unlike most of his other acting roles.
At the time of its release in 2004 Disney, the studio that made The Princess Diaries, had not yet acquired Marvel so there's no obvious connection there and, while he'd appeared in a few Marvel superhero movies, the tradition of the Stan Lee cameo was not yet quite such a ubiquitous trope as it is today.
He simply shows up at the climactic wedding, looking well dressed, speaking little English and bewildering Julie Andrews' prim and proper queen by some broad comedy, manic nodding and weird noises that his on-screen niece explains as evidence that "my uncle learned his English watching the old Three Stooges movies."
It's not exactly funny, but it is wonderfully bizarre and, as far as Stan Lee cameos go, comes absolutely out of nowhere and so definitely deserves bonus points for that. It's one where audiences will undoubtedly find themselves asking: "wait, was that really Stan Lee?"