Stan Lee is nearly as famous for 17 years of cameos in Marvel Comics-based films as he is for co-creating many of the company's iconic characters. But if Todd McFarlane gets his way, Lee will branch out his acting chops into a role in the long in-development new "Spawn" film.

On Saturday's joint Stan Lee and Todd McFarlane panel at Emerald City Comicon in Seattle, McFarlane expressed his interest in seeing Lee cameo in "Spawn" -- in fact, he said he's already written the scene into the script.

"Stan Lee is in this building, and it's a rundown building, and you kick open the door, you catch him by surprise, and he's dressed in a wifebeater shirt," McFarlane told the main stage crowd at the Washington State Convention Center. "He hasn't shaved for four days. He's got a beer in one hand, and he's got a big stogie in the other hand."

"That's just the set-up," McFarlane continued. "[Lee] always looks nice in his movies -- I just want to do that crusty old curmudgeon. Basically, what his wife sees in the morning when he wakes up. The real Stan Lee. I want you to come into that movie and really act. I want you to just be nasty. It'd be awesome."

Lee seemed at least open to the idea, though he stressed that it might be best for the film if the role isn't too big.

"I don't get roles that are too big in the movies, because everybody is afraid I'll get mistaken for Clark Gable," the comics legend said.

McFarlane has long discussed his plans for a new "Spawn" movie, saying that it'll be a hard R-rating and more of a horror film than a superhero one, though no casting or production details have yet been announced. At New York Comic Con 2015, McFarlane reported that he had finished writing the script, and that, "It’s not going to be a PG-13, typical superhero [movie]. I’m going to scare you." The first "Spawn" film was released in 1997, and while it widely failed with critics and fans of the Image Comics series, it was a modest box office hit.

The panel was a spirited affair, with Lee and McFarlane consistently taking playful jabs at each other, plus Lee offering a passionate defense of Spider-Man having mechanical versus organic webshooters (because it makes him more vulnerable if the web fluid runs out), his thoughts on Gwen Stacy vs. Mary Jane (he loves them both, but MJ appeared to be his preference) and why "comicbook" is superior to "comic book" (because the later implied a comedic book rather than a book telling a story through sequential art).

Keep reading CBR for the latest from Emerald City Comicon 2017.