Director Kevin Smith was moved to tears after seeing Stan Lee's touching tribute to him during his Captain Marvel cameo.
Now Smith is planning his own for the upcoming Jay and Silent Bob movie.
Any Marvel fan knows that if you're watching a Marvel superhero movie you can expect a cameo from the godfather of the MCU himself: the one and only Stan Lee.
What director Kevin Smith did not expect though, as he watched Lee's latest cameo in Captain Marvel, was a shout out from Lee that would bring him to tears.
The film, which is set in 1995, features Lee in his trademark cameo while Air Force pilot Carol Danvers (Captain Marvel) is searching through a passenger train for a shape-shifting Skrull.
Danvers runs into Lee sitting in one of the cars, rehearsing the line "Trust me, true believer" from a film script as he prepares for his cameo in Kevin Smith's 1995 cult classic Mallrats.
When Danvers reaches Lee she lowers the script to make sure he isn't a Skrull, smiles to herself, and walks away. Talk about meta.
Here's Lee's cameo in Mallrats.
Mallrats (7/9) Movie CLIP - Stan Lee Dating Wisdom (1995) HDwww.youtube.com
Fans who caught the movie appreciated the subtle nod, but for Smith it was a much more poignant moment.
After seeing Lee's cameo, Smith who was a "blubbering mess," posted his tearful reaction on Instagram.
He captioned the post:
"After a lifetime spent referencing the movies, the movies just referenced me!"
Smith added:
"Many thanks to @marvelstudios, #ryanfleck, #annabodin, and to my friend @therealstanlee for the cinematic shout-out!"
Smith followed up with an interesting question since he is now a part of the Marvel Comic Universe.
"But if I'm now part of the @marvel Universe, I have only one question: Did I survive The Snap?"
The tribute has inspired Smith to add a shout out of his own to his upcoming Jay and Silent Bob reboot.
On Monday Smith posted a still from Jay and Silent Bob on Twitter and Instagram showing Jason Lee reprising his role as Brodie Bruce picking up a Captain Marvel comic book — Smith's shout back to the movie and of course Lee who created the character along with Gene Colan.
Fans of Marvel and Smith's "ViewAskewniverse" were completely in love with both of the subtle tributes.
As far as shout-outs go, this is about as meta as you can get.
But it was a bittersweet reminder for fans of just how much we lost with Stan Lee's passing in November last year.
Though Stan Lee is no longer with us, the comic legend filmed several of his signature cameos so there are still a few more fun and poignant moments left to look forward to.
