Stan Lee Cameos in Next "X-Men" Movie

Comic book legend Stan Lee will make a special cameo appearance in the upcoming "X-Men" movie.

According to the Associated Press, Hugh Jackman, who plays Wolverine in the film, was amongst the first to hear the news directly from Lee, at San Diego's comic book convention Comic-Con.

Jackman and Lee, who had already met in 2000 at the first X-Men premiere, crossed paths Thursday at the convention after Jackman made an unscheduled surprise appearance. Jackman later proceeded to make an unscheduled surprise announcement when he accidentally told the Associated Press about Lee's cameo appearance. "Don't tell anyone," he joked. "It's always a big shock when people see him."

Jackman went on to praise the X-Men creator; "Around here this guy is like a god," he said. "People see this guy, they faint. Their whole livelihood and everything they're interested in came out of his mind."

Lee promised Jackman that he would try not to overshadow him in the movie. Wolverine, the character played by Jackman, is one of the few characters not written by Lee.

Lee also spoke about the future of comic book movies, reported the Associated Press. "You could tell having seen Iron Man, having seen Batman, the writers and producers and directors now know how to treat these movies. They're not just silly stories of people wearing capes hitting a bad guy. They have more dimension to them," he said. "There will never be an end, I think, to superhero stories. They'll just evolve, they'll be done in different ways and I think they'll keep getting better and better."

20th Century Fox's new X-Men film, X-Men Origins: Wolverine, is due for release in May 2009.