Spider-Man: 15 Actors Who Almost Played Major Roles

We all know that Marvel films just wouldn't be Marvel films without the token Stan Lee cameo. Having filmed several back to back, Lee has dodged that awkward issue of death for at least another few outings, so keep them peeled in Homecoming. However, Lee was once tipped to play the bellowing gas bag J. Jonah Jameson - a character that was actually written in the image of Lee himself as a "much grumpier" version.

This comes from that whole Zito/Tom Cruise/Hoskins era, but just before they pulled the entire plug and Cannon films folded. Lee was a constant name throughout the entire Hooper/Zito era, so if the film had gone ahead, he would almost certainly have played J.J. The original casting thought came because Lee had expressed a desire to play the role himself.

Nowadays J.K. Simmons may seem perfect as the editor of the Daily Bugle, and he will be hard to replace. But if the character was written as Lee, it seems only right that he was once in consideration for the part. Lee's current cameos always add comic relief to their films, while in the late '80s, he could have been superb as Jameson. The only worry, could sweet Stan pull off the grumpiness of J.J?