Stan Lee says Fantastic Four flopped because he didn't have a cameo

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Published on September 2, 2015 10:03PM EDT

Fantastic Four’s debut last month was, um, less than fantastic. Not only did it bomb at the box office and receive less-than-glowing reviews, but the film’s director, Josh Trank, even tweeted his disappointment. So what happened? In a new interview with Larry King, Stan Lee says he knows why Fantastic Four was such a flop: “It’s probably because I didn’t have a cameo in it.”

Lee, who created the original Fantastic Four with Jack Kirby, added that the filmmakers didn’t discuss the story with him. In fact, he still hasn’t seen it. King also asked him if he thought there were too many superhero reboots in too short a period of time, to which Lee replied, “That may be true.”

Fantastic Four was one of the few Marvel movies Lee hasn’t appeared in, as he’s made dozens of cameo appearances in Marvel movies and TV shows, from The Avengers to Agent Carter. He also appeared in the 2005 Fantastic Four as mailman Willie Lumpkin.

Watch a clip from Lee’s interview with King below:

•Box office report: Fantastic Four fizzles and falls to Mission: Impossible — Rogue Nation

•Why did Fantastic Four director Josh Trank slam his own movie?

•A serious attempt to understand what the new Fantastic Four movie was supposed to be

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