Superhero Movies’ Post-Credits Scenes That Ultimately Went Nowhere

Shazam! Fury of the Gods (2023), dir. David F. Sandberg – scene with Doctor Sivana

It does seem somewhat like a parody, similar to the situation in Guardians of the Galaxy, where in the two Shazam! movies there is a similar scene. Doctor Sivana is seen writing secret symbols on the walls and drawing Shazam in dead poses. Once he’s finished covering all the walls, a little green talking caterpillar with a speech synthesizer, Mr. Mind, visits him. He had visited him once before and promised something. Now he’s back again because he has a lot to take care of, but he also promises that Sivana’s situation will change soon. However, he still has something else to take care of. It’s a way to keep someone, including the viewer, in suspense indefinitely, without saying anything concrete in the post-credits scene.

Black Adam (2022), dir. Jaume Collet-Serra – scene with Superman

Henry Cavill will indeed return as Superman. What’s more, he will enter into dealings with Black Adam. It could be positive or negative, but they will have contact, which sounds intriguing. In the current situation of the DCEU, however, this seems unlikely because Cavill (probably) won’t return to the role of Kal-El. I write “probably” because the clashes between the Snyderverse and Gunnreality lasted some time, giving viewers conflicting information about both Superman and the character’s existence in the DC world in general. For now, let’s assume that Cavill won’t return to the role of Superman, so the post-credits scene in Black Adam will remain unresolved. By the way, it’s worth noting that Cavill’s disappearance from the DCEU is one of the biggest failures of this universe.

Green Lantern (2011), dir. Martin Campbell – Sinestro puts on the ring

From the scene, it appears that Sinestro did indeed construct the coveted ring. However, there was no longer an enemy he could defeat using the ring, which was the main reason for its construction. The expression on the character’s face when he puts on the ring suggests, however, that another supervillain will soon emerge, and they will be the bearer of the new weapon – the ring, which corrupts the wearer’s consciousness, but why? Something more powerful must be behind the ring, but we haven’t learned all of this yet due to the poor performance of Green Lantern.

Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer (2007), dir. Tim Story – The Silver Surfer lives

This group of superheroes seems to have exceptionally bad luck when it comes to good movies. It’s interesting to speculate how long we’ll have to wait for a truly artistically valuable production – perhaps another five, or maybe even six years. The scene in question is a standard teaser for upcoming productions devised by people overly confident that they’ll make a sequel, and the carrier of this post-credits scene will earn enough money. It didn’t. The reception from the audience was poor, so the hope that the Silver Surfer would appear in another production faded.

Hellboy (2019), dir. Neil Marshall – Baba Yaga

Actually, there are two scenes – one mid-credits and one post-credits. The first one, we can skip because it’s more sentimental and intriguing rather than specifically addressing important events to come. The second scene shows a conversation between Baba Yaga and someone akin to her mercenary. Baba Yaga orders him to kill Hellboy and bring her his eye. In return, the mercenary will receive a reward – death. From this conversation, and knowing the comics, one can infer that Baba Yaga’s adversary is the Undead Koschei, a character we can anticipate in the next Hellboy film. For now, we’re still waiting. The plans are there.

Avengers (2012), dir. Joss Whedon – shawarma

This is just an example of a scene that doesn’t contribute to the further development of the MCU. So it fits perfectly with the theme of the compilation. Nothing came out of it because it couldn’t. The Avengers superheroes enjoy shawarma after a successful battle in NY. This is not a criticism. Post-credit scenes don’t necessarily have to have any continuation. What matters is that they exist, and the audience is happy that there is some non-committal continuation of the story. Since post-credit scenes have been promoted, especially in superhero movies, viewers have started to expect, due to the pressure from the creators of these scenes, that they must suggest what will happen in the “next episode”. They don’t have to. They can be a loose reflection on the plot. They can make no sense at all. They can be anything, but not at any cost. And their role is not to predispose to anticipating fictional events, so you should enjoy this scene the most out of all described here.

Thor: Ragnarok (2017), dir. Taika Waititi – The Grandmaster declares a draw

I’m still waiting for the Grandmaster to reappear and explain what really happened after he declared it was a draw. Of course, it’s quite likely that he didn’t survive that encounter with his fellow Grandmasters, but I think the situation might have been more complex. The approach to the Grandmaster’s character in this scene is intriguing. I’ve always wondered what superpower he possesses, and it turns out to be the ability to manipulate reality through words, demagoguery, which was vividly revealed in the post-credits scene. In the end, this scene could have no further continuation because any Guardians of the Galaxy-loving viewer can imagine what might have happened next. Nevertheless, this scene hasn’t led us to anything specific in the MCU yet, but it has the potential to do so, as the Grandmaster’s character hasn’t been sufficiently utilized.

Guardians of the Galaxy (2014), dir. James Gunn – Howard the Duck

Many years have passed since the premiere of Howard the Duck, which was not part of the MCU and probably won’t become one. Guardians of the Galaxy, on the other hand, is part of the MCU and is based on farce, where anything can happen. Therefore, the presence of Howard the Duck in the post-credits scene doesn’t necessarily mean anything specific. It could be a distant hint at a remake or sequel. It could also serve as a simple reminiscence, reminding older viewers to appreciate the MCU, as it doesn’t forget about important Marvel comic characters. Howard had a small cameo in Endgame as well, but that also doesn’t necessarily have to mean anything.

The Amazing Spider-Man (2012), dir. Marc Webb – conversation in the cell

I’m not convinced by one of the fan explanations that Electro visits the Lizard in the cell. I understand it’s based on logical consistency, namely the appearance of Electro in the next installment of The Amazing Spider-Man. Electro’s presence would also justify the flash of light that occurs just before the mysterious figure steps out of the shadows on the wall. But how would Electro know about Peter Parker’s parents? And that flash doesn’t have the same stylistic design as the electrical discharges caused by Electro in The Amazing Spider-Man 2. Unfortunately, after the series reboot, we’ll never find out who that mysterious man was.

Daredevil (2003), dir. Mark Steven Johnson – a fly killed with a needle

I was just mentioning that it’s good to include scenes that hint at something about the future of the series if you’re certain that the themes addressed in them will be developed. In this scene, we see a heavily injured Bullseye, bothered by a fly buzzing around his head. He then reaches for a syringe with his two only functional fingers and throws it so skillfully that the insect gets pinned to the wall with the needle. Since Bullseye has such dexterous fingers, what will he do once he recovers? Undoubtedly, this scene foreshadows his dynamic return. However, the story never came to fruition due to the film’s resounding failure.