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The feature, which explores the final years of Lee’s life, is based on hundreds of hours of footage shot by his former assistant, Jon Bolerjack.
By Aaron Couch
Film Editor
A documentary exploring the tumultuous final years of Stan Lee has found a home.
Osmosis Global has taken the rights to Stan Lee: The Final Years, which Lee’s former assistant Jon Bolerjack directed and edited based on hundreds of hours of footage he shot before Lee’s death at age 95 in 2018.
Osmosis is now in the stages of figuring out a release plan. But first, some audiences will get to see the movie June 27 at the Dances with Film festival in Los Angeles.
The Final Years made waves when its existence was unveiled in March 2025. Bolerjack sought funds to complete it, raising nearly $85,000. He estimates the film has cost about $500,000 to produce in total, between filming costs, legal fees and post-production.
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It has already been well reported that Lee, the comic book industry’s most famous creator known for X-Men, Spider-Man and many more, endured a challenging final years. A The Hollywood Reporter investigation explored allegations of elder abuse as various people struggled for control his care and his estate. Bolerjack says that his camera shows first-hand what happened, including an exhausted and overworked Lee being carted around to various signings and appearances.
He also says that one of the alleged perpetrators tried to stop the release of the film – hence the legal fees to make the film airtight to potential issues.
Despite the heavy subject matter, Bolerjack says film has plenty of lighthearted moments with Lee as well (see a clip below).
The filmmaker has maintained that while he witnessed abuse, he did not feel empowered to stop it, and thus picked up his camera to attempt to document it for posterity. He says Lee was on board with the idea of a documentary, and gave his blessing.
“Witnessing the treatment that Stan endured during those final years, especially at his age, really changes you,” said Bolerjack. “The people around him believed they were untouchable, and I felt a responsibility to document what was happening. It took ten years to finish this film, but sharing the truth about those years is something I owed to Stan and to his fans.”
Convrsly Productions is behind the project and is produced by George Chan and Bolerjack. Alex Barajas is executive producer.
Said Osmosis’ president Eli Shibley: “The demand for water cooler moments with built-in fan base has never been higher and we are keenly focused on working with talented storytellers to deliver the biggest possible audiences to the powerful stories they are telling.”
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