James Gunn Recalls the Adorably Hilarious Moment When Tom Holland and Stan Lee First Met

Tom Holland had some major shoes to fill when he was cast as Peter Parker/Spider-Man in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Not only had several actors previously portrayed the character, but the fictional superhero has been around for decades. Co-created by the late Stan Lee and writer-artist Steve Ditko, Spider-Man made his comic book debut in Aug. 1962. Despite the expectations placed on him, Holland proved to be a versatile actor who brought never-before-seen depth and humor to the iconic role.

As reported by Cinema Blend, it was actually Guardians of the Galaxy director James Gunn who introduced Holland to Lee, and Gunn recalls that during the meeting, Spider-Man's co-creator managed to pull a harmless joke on the newly-casted Holland.

Gunn recently told the story during a Q&A on Instagram, where he remembered Lee and Holland's hilarious introduction. “I introduced Stan to Tom Holland just after Tom was hired to play Spider-Man. Stan says to him, 'Yes of course! I hear you're great! Personally, I don't see it!' And we all died laughing.”

Lee, who passed away in 2018, was known for making minor but hilarious appearances in Marvel movies. You can check out a compilation of his cameos below. My personal favorite is when he appeared as Hugh Hefner in the 2008 film Iron Man.

While there was some debate over Spider-Man remaining in the MCU due to negotiations between Marvel and Sony, it was announced last year that the beloved character would in fact stay put. I can't wait to see what Peter Parker's next adventure has in store!