Stan Lee hints at massive multi-studio Marvel crossover movie

The 91-year-old creator of Iron Man, Captain America, Spider-Man and Thor, among other mutants and heroes, gave fans plenty to speculate over

Iron Man and Captain America in a scene from "The Avengers" ahead of the release of next The Avengers: Age of Ultron (AP Photo/Disney)

Hollywood could be set to go one better than The Avengers, if the latest clues dropped by Marvel Comics creator Stan Lee are anything to go by.

The 91-year-old creator of Iron Man, Captain America, Spider-Man and Thor, among other mutants and heroes, gave fans plenty to speculate over at a Q&A and book signing with current Marvel editor-in-chief Roy Thomas on Saturday to mark the comic’s 75th anniversary.

Sitting alongside filmmaker Kevin Smith at the Hammer Museum, Lee was asked by a curious member of the audience dressed in Captain America merchandise whether he’d ever live to see Spider-Man, the X-Men and the Avengers, the rights of which characters are owned by Sony, Fox and Disney respectively, come together on the same screen.

“It's something that Marvel is very concerned about,” he replied. “It's very difficult to bring 'em all together because these characters are so successful and make so much money that the studios that have the rights don't want to let them go. So that's something that all the lawyers and all the production companies have to work out. Whether they get it worked out, I don't know.”

The issue of a possible crossover film has been addressed on several occasions by Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige. And, following an event in October, he announced that Black Panther and Captain Marvel were to join the Marvel Cinematic Universe with stand-alone films.

However, he’s always avoided confirming whether or not such conversations between multiple film studios have taken place – something Lee’s statement, fans are already debating, appears to indicate.

His comments follow Marvel's latest announcement last week that Benedict Cumberbatch will take on the role of Doctor Strange in a newly commissioned film adaptation.

The movie is set to hit the big screen in 2016.