Post-Credits Scenes That Were Cut From The Movie

Whenever anyone goes to see a movie in theaters, many will also stick around in the auditorium until the lights come back on, just to make sure there isn't a post-credit scene lurking. Once a domain associated with wacky and anarchic comedies like "The Muppet Movie" or titles in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, now a wide array of movies utilize post-credit scenes. These stingers can be waiting in almost any film of any genre, either during the end credits or after they've finished rolling — and sometimes both. Often these scenes are meant to tee up sequels, other times they pay off a running gag seen earlier in the film. Or in the case of "The Disaster Artist," they can make room for cameos that would have otherwise been distracting during the movie proper. 

The endless ways credit sequences can be utilized makes it clear why they're so ubiquitous in modern cinema, though that doesn't mean every proposed credit scene gets off the ground. Sometimes, even the most tantalizing notions for post-credit scenes end up on the cutting room floor for an array of reasons: perhaps the sequence just wasn't working, or the director wanted to eschew this staple of 21st century moviegoing. Even with the popularity of credit scenes today, these unrealized and cut end-credit scenes show that it is much harder to craft these sequences than audiences might think.

Thanks to "Iron Man" in 2008, film adaptations of Marvel Comics characters restarted a modern fascination with post-credit scenes. In the wake of that film, countless superhero features have engaged in credit sequences, often teasing the sequel or providing a satisfying payoff for a particular joke. Given the association between post-credits scenes and comic book movies, it is always notable when they choose not to feature one. This is the case for "Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse," which has no extra scenes tucked away in its credits — beyond some on-screen text promising that Miles Morales (Shameik Moore) and friends would return in "Spider-Man: Beyond the Spider-Verse."

However, this wasn't always part of the plan and there was a planned post-credits scene. Producer and screenwriter Phil Lord explained to IndieWire that "Across the Spider-Verse" initially contained a scene where Spot (Jason Schwartzman) struggles to get a drink at a bar that is serving various Spider-Man foes. Later after the credits, a super-powered Spot would've returned to the bar and eviscerated every one of the baddies that previously gave him the cold shoulder. It sounds like it could've been an exciting way to cap off "Across the Spider-Verse," however, head of character animation Alan Hawkins explained that, once the earlier scene of Spot at the bar got cut, the post-credit scene inevitably also got axed since it could never work as a standalone sequence. Lord also commented it would be "hard to beat where we left off," at the end of the film. 

The ending of "Black Adam" has one of the more standout superhero movie credit sequences in recent memory. The scene depicts the return of Henry Cavill's Superman, teasing a duel between him and Dwayne Johnson's Black Adam — and it got fans very excited. This showdown would never be realized, though, with DC Studios heads James Gunn and Peter Safran opting to go in a new direction and David Corenswet replacing Cavill for "Superman: Legacy." With all the talk over this Superman and Black Adam credit scene, it's easy to forget that "Black Adam" was set to feature another credit sequence that would've teased the revival of a seemingly deceased superhero.

In the wake of "Black Adam's" release, The Direct reported that there was initially supposed to be a second credit sequence explicitly teasing out the return of the character of Doctor Fate — portrayed in the movie by Pierce Brosnan — though it was left ambiguous who would now be wielding the character's powers. The existence of this sequence was never officially confirmed by either Warner Bros. or the creative team behind "Black Adam," however, it does line up with comments made by Dwayne Johnson about Doctor Fate's future. On Twitter, Johnson responded to a fan's tweet about "Black Adam" by promising that Doctor Fate would return in future DC blockbusters. This reported post-credits scene could've been a way to make that promise more explicit, though given how Warner Bros. would eventually abandon expanding the world of "Black Adam," it would've ended up being another unrealized tease for the future.

"Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness" exploited the possibilities of the multiverse by freely embracing the idea that superheroes could die. The film's prologue opened with an alternate version of Doctor Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch) biting the dust, which set a precedent for all kinds of recognizable superheroes perishing in grisly ways throughout the feature's runtime. This is especially apparent when Wanda Maximoff aka Scarlet Witch (Elizabeth Olsen) has a showdown with a version of the Illuminati, which sees this vengeful character violently taking out folks like Reed Richards aka Mr. Fantastic (John Krasinski). If one member of the "Multiverse of Madness" creative team had their way, though, a proposed credits scene for this movie would've limited this superhero's presence to something more hopeful rather than definitively conclusive. 

"Multiverse of Madness" screenwriter Michael Waldron explained to Empire that, before the idea of incorporating the Illuminati into this movie even came about, he wrote a post-credits tag involving a mostly off-screen Reed Richards revisiting the events of the film on a security monitor. Given that Mr. Fantastic was always Waldron's absolute favorite superhero, he made no reservations about how hard he worked to get the stretchy superhero into the movie. Once Mr. Fantastic's presence in "Multiverse of Madness" was upgraded to being a notable on-screen member of the Illuminati, Waldron's initial concept for a post-credit scene was shelved.

"Avengers: Endgame" was meant to be the definitive end of an era, hence why it contained the on-screen demise of Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr.) and the retirement of Steve Rogers' Captain America (Chis Evans). With the tone of this particular project, it was no surprise that initial screenings of "Endgame" didn't contain any post-credit scene of any kind — though the credits did contain special on-screen signatures from the six initial stars of "The Avengers." This wasn't a movie necessarily setting up years of new stories, but rather determined to wrap up one age of Marvel Cinematic Universe storytelling with a neat bow. However, originally, "Avengers: Endgame" was supposed to feature a credit sequence that would've teed up the first Marvel Studios Disney+ TV show.

Speaking to IMDb, Paul Bettany revealed that initially "Endgame" would've contained a credit scene depicting the corpse of Vision being unzipped from a body bag. With the benefit of hindsight, this segment would've set up the events of "WandaVision" and suggested to viewers that this particular Avenger's story wasn't done yet. However, Bettany was later informed by Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige that this sequence was getting left on the cutting room floor. The actor wasn't given any official reason for why the credit scene was axed, though perhaps Feige and company realized "Avengers: Endgame" worked better without any teases of the MCU's future so that it felt more complete.

The post-credit scene of "John Wick: Chapter 4" initially seems like it'll be offering some emotional catharsis for the audience. It sees Caine (Donnie Yen) emerge from a subway tunnel preparing for a reunion with his estranged daughter. However, as he approaches this lady, another figure begins to walk towards Caine. It's Shimazu Akira (Rina Samayama), who is determined to exact revenge on Caine for killing her father, Shimazu Koji (Hioyuki Sanada). The final shot of "Chapter 4" depicts Akira about to make her vengeful move against Caine and then ... it cuts to black. It's an ambiguous sequence meant to reinforce that the endless chain reaction of revenge that's defined the "John Wick" movies is destined to continue even after Wick has seemingly passed on.

Though a satisfying note to end these movies on, director Chad Stahleski explained to Collider that this wasn't the original version of "John Wick: Chapter 4's" big post-credit scene. Initially, Stahleski planned to explicitly depict Akira killing Caine on-screen. However, nobody involved with the movie thought the on-screen death quite worked, which led editor Nathan Orloff to suggest that the outcome of this encounter be kept off-screen. Stahleski was satisfied with this approach and, in the process, opted for a more ambiguous tone that totally overhauled the post-credit sequence of "John Wick: Chapter 4."

Unlike many other modern-day blockbuster franchises, the "Fast & Furious" movies don't regularly go to the well of post-credit scenes. These features aren't opposed to them, as seen by the post-credits tease of "Fast Five" showing Letty (Michelle Rodriguez) being alive, and the mid-credits reveal of "Fast X" letting us know that Luke Hobbs (Dwayne Johnson) was coming back to the series. When the series began back in 2001, credit sequences just weren't as common, and for the most part, the "Fast & Furious" movies haven't included a sequel tease in the credits. However, one instance of a "Fast & Furious" credit scene was derailed for a very specific reason pertaining to this franchise's biggest star.

Reportedly, "The Fate of the Furious" was supposed to feature a sequence either during or after its credits that would've further teed up the rapport between Hobbs and Deckard Shaw (Jason Statham) before the pair teamed up for the 2019 spin-off film "Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw." However, this scene was apparently jettisoned after Vin Diesel grew frustrated over the scene's very existence. After contacting Universal Pictures executives, Diesel got this credit sequence removed. This alleged turn of events would fit right in with the long-standing rivalry between Diesel and Johnson, which even extended to the world of "Fast & Furious" post-credit scenes.

With the release of "Man of Steel" in 2013, the DC Extended Universe was born. Along with the arrival of this franchise, countless questions were up in the air. In the time before Ben Affleck's casting as Batman or the debut of a solo Aquaman movie, comic book geeks everywhere wondered what the future of this interconnected saga could look like. A credit scene of some kind for "Man of Steel" could've offered these die-hard fans a glimpse of what was to come, much in the same way that a post-credits Nick Fury cameo made people realize an Avengers film was on the horizon. However, "Man of Steel" dropped into theaters with no credit sequence in sight despite the wishes of Warner Bros. 

Per The Guardian, Warner Bros. repeatedly inquired to director Zack Snyder about the possibility of "Man of Steel" containing a light-hearted scene during its credits. Producer Christopher Nolan, though, stepped in to dismiss that idea immediately. Nolan recalled that he told Snyder that "Man of Steel" shouldn't try and chase other cinematic trends, like the credit scenes during Marvel movies. Thanks to Nolan's post-"The Dark Knight" clout with Warner Bros., these requests went nowhere, and "Man of Steel" arrived in theaters devoid of any credit sequences. Nolan and Snyder got to stick to their creative vision, and in the process, DC fans were left in the dark over what the future of the DCEU would look like.

The video game adaptation "Gran Turismo" is a movie all about cars going fast. Given the ubiquity of automobiles in this particular feature, it is perhaps surprising that Orlando Bloom's character Danny Moore never once steps behind the wheel of a car during the movie's runtime. Most viewers probably won't even notice or care about this detail, but Bloom was itching to finally put the pedal to the metal in front of the camera. At one point in time, Bloom would've gotten his wish in the form of a post-credit scene. Director Neil Blomkamp revealed to MotorTrend that there were once plans to finally give Bloom his big driving scene in "Gran Turismo" in a tiny sequence detached from the rest of the movie during the credits. 

However, to make this scene a reality, Bloom had to prove to the stunt team he was capable of stepping behind the wheel of a car without hurting anyone. During Bloom's big test drive, however, things went awry and he ended up crashing the car. Nobody was hurt in this incident and Blomkamp insisted that he still felt Bloom was a perfectly capable driver under normal circumstances. However, with this crash, Bloom was unable to drive a car on the set of "Gran Turismo," which ensured that the movie's proposed post-credits scene would never get out of the pit lane.

"Iron Man" was the movie that birthed not just the wider Marvel Cinematic Universe but also a massive resurgence for post-credit scenes. Classic titles like "Airplane!" and "Ferris Bueller's Day Off," among many others, had dropped brief scenes at the end of their credits. However, "Iron Man" took it to a whole new level by teasing out future sequels and spin-offs once the credits finished rolling. Given its widespread influence on cinema, it's fascinating to remember that the final post-credit scene of "Iron Man" was not the original incarnation of that sequence. Initially, Marvel Studios planned to have Samuel L. Jackson's Nick Fury reference a wider array of Marvel characters in his introduction to Tony Stark.

In September 2019, Marvel Studios revealed the alternate post-credit scene which featured Nick Fury referencing The Hulk, Spider-Man, and the various members of the X-Men as some of the many problems he has to keep tabs on in addition to Tony Stark. After these acknowledgments of other Marvel movie franchises, Fury then proceeds to reveal "the Avengers initiative" to Stark. This incarnation of the sequence would've blown the minds of moviegoers back in 2008 as it would've instantly retroactively made films like "Spider-Man" and "X2" canon in the world of "Iron Man." However, complications stemming from Marvel Studios not having the film rights to characters like Spider-Man in 2008 led to this "Iron Man" post-credit scene getting revamped into its final form.

Part of why "Barbie" was such a glorious cinematic experience was because of its willingness to provide so many delightful surprises to the viewer. Whether it was in the complicated direction that the feature took Ryan Gosling's Ken or the way writer and director Greta Gerwig wrung such powerful pathos out of a movie that often got so wacky, "Barbie" was always giving people the unexpected. One other way it subverted expectations was by not delivering a post-credit scene of any kind. Though the initial burst of end credits is accompanied by recreations of vintage Barbie doll ads, there's nothing waiting for moviegoers at the very end.

However, per an episode of the Art of the Cut podcast with Steve Hullfish, a cut scene with the pregnant doll Midge (Emerald Fennell) actually giving birth would've functioned as an end-credits scene. That sequence would've also contained an on-screen appearance from Helen Mirren, who otherwise only appears in "Barbie" as an omniscient voice-over narrator. While images from this sequence have emerged online, there has yet to be an official reason offered for why this particular scene was axed. It's also currently unclear if the announced post-credit sequence on the IMAX cut of "Barbie" will be this Midge scene or something entirely. Still, even with so much uncertainty surrounding this particular Midge-heavy sequence, "Barbie" had plenty of joy to offer audiences in its initial theatrical run even without a post-credit scene.