Iron Man: Jon Favreau Reveals Edgar Wright Suggestion That Changed the MCU

If you ask some Marvel fans what their favorite thing about the MCU, some of them might say the post-credit scenes. These teases for what’s to come in the Marvel Cinematic Universe have been there since the beginning with little hints and promises about the future that have set up stories like The Avengers, Thanos, the introduction of Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver, and even that T’Challa had a son before he died. 2008’s Iron Man started the trend, hinting at the larger scope of the MCU with Samuel L. Jackson’s Nick Fury teasing the formation of Earth’s Mightiest Heroes. Speaking in a new interview, Marvel head Kevin Feige and director Jon Favreau reminisced about creating this phenomana, and how one director helped them perfect it.

“You have two movie audiences,” Favreau said about the development of . “You got the casual movie audience that just wants to come and have a good time. You still have to make it fun for them or somebody new, next generation. I think you have the people who know it better than you do. And how do you make it work for both? And that’s a very tricky (thing).”

Feige added, “I would say that’s one of the reasons we put the Nick Fury tag at the end. So it would not be intrusive, or disruptive for somebody who is like ‘Why Sam Jackson here? Why is Sam Jackson in his living room?’ But if you’ve waited for those credits (you’re probably ready).” The Iron Man director then recalled, “As Edgar Wright suggested, all the way to the end of the credits. Remember what we showed it to him at Skywalker? It was, (originally) it was just after the first few credits. He’s like ‘nah you gotta put it all the way.’”

Marvel fans may recall how Wright was tapped to originally direct , being among the first three directors confirmed to helm a Marvel Studios movie when their ambitious plans were first announced. Wright being in on early screenings of Iron Man and offering a suggestion that influenced how the MCU moved forward isn’t that hard to believe, the guy would have been around (and thinking about the future) a lot in those days. 

Wright revealed back in 2021 that he and Feige had actually reconnected after he departed the much-delayed Ant-Man movie. The director took part in the assembly of Empire Magazine’s issue about “The Greatest Cinema Moments Ever.” When putting together the list of famous film fans he would recruit, Wright added, “It was funny after six years of no contact to email him just saying, ‘Kevin, I need you to write something for me, and I need it tomorrow!’”