The MCU Has Finally Fixed Its Post-Credits Scene Problem After 4 Years

The end of MCU Phase 5 and the beginning of Phase 6 represent a turning point for Marvel’s post-credits scenes. Ever since Samuel L. Jackson’s Nick Fury stepped out of the shadows to talk about something called the Avengers Initiative in Iron Man, the after-credits stingers have been a defining part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. They’ve ranged from clear, direct setups to silly, throwaway jokes, helped stories span the better part of a decade (such as with Thanos), and sometimes even been scenes taken straight from future movies.

There have been over 80 MCU post-credits scenes across Marvel’s movies, TV shows, one-shots, and special presentations, with Avengers: Endgame the only film not to have one. There’s no sign of things slowing down, with its two most recent theatrical releases – Thunderbolts* and The Fantastic Four: First Steps – both having significant moments after the credits had started to roll, alongside some gags for good measure. Rather than just continuing the trend, though, they actually serve to fix a recent problem.

The MCU Has Recently Struggled With Post-Credits Scenes

Marvel’s post-credits scenes weren’t always great, but there was always a clear sense of momentum to them, and an understanding of how they fit into Kevin Feige’s plans. Barring the jokes, you knew that most of the credits scenes would be paid off sooner rather than later (Doctor Strange‘s tease of Mordo hunting sorcerers is perhaps the lone exception), but that hasn’t been the case in Phases 4 and 5.

There have been multiple post-credits scenes the MCU hasn’t resolved, and what’s more, there are no signs of anything happening with them. Marvel shifted to a frustrating trend where the stingers were often reliant on stunt casting, and where the Multiverse Saga plans were so unclear and ill-defined that there were no strong ideas of when they might be paid off, if indeed they would be at all. This includes:

• Harry Styles’ Starfox in Eternals, along with Pip (Patton Oswalt).
• Dane Whitman finds the Ebony Blade (also in Eternals), and the voice of Mahershala Ali’s Blade speaking to him off-screen.
• Charlize Theron appears as Clea in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, whom Strange follows to the Dark Dimension.
• Hercules (Brett Goldstein) is sent on a revenge mission by Zeus (Russell Crowe) in Thor: Love and Thunder.

There’s no sign of any of these mattering anytime soon in the MCU. As it stands, the only one that seems likely to be paid off at some point is Clea, since Strange’s experience in the multiverse and with incursions should be important in Secret Wars, though whether Theron herself returns is rather the opposite of her character’s name. Styles will probably never be seen again, and Kit Harington’s Dane Whitman may not either – unless he’s in the MCU’s Blade movie, if that ever happens. Hercules could be in Thor 5 but, again, there’s no certainty we’ll see it.

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In fairness to Marvel, there have been some gradual improvements. The scene of Prince T’Challa in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever will presumably be paid off in Black Panther 3; we now know that The Marvels‘ introduction of Beast will tie into Avengers: Doomsday (though that was not clear at the time). But it’s in the last couple of entries where it’s really found that sense of momentum and clarity of old.

Thunderbolts*‘ mid-credits scene reveals that Sam Wilson may take legal action over the use of the New Avengers team name, before showing a space crisis is shown to be the Fantastic Four’s ship entering Earth-616. Both are exciting teases for Avengers: Doomsday, setting up a new Avengers conflict – perhaps even leading to a second civil war of some kind – while also paving the way for Marvel’s First Family to be part of the story (or, perhaps, be Doom himself arriving, if they wanted a twist on things).

The Fantastic Four: First Steps‘ credits scene nicely built on that, with a sequence filmed by the Russo Brothers on the set of Avengers: Doomsday. It marks Doctor Doom’s debut in the MCU, which is exciting enough, but also suggests he’s going to take Franklin Richards. There are various possible theories as to why – likely needing his powers for the multiversal goals in some way – and it’s a great hype-building. It feels exactly like the kind of post-credits scene Marvel used to do so well: you know exactly what movies and characters are being set up, but it also allows for a lot of fun discussion and speculation, which is one of the joys of being an MCU fan.

Thunderbolts* and Fantastic Four‘s critical reception led to a feeling of “Marvel is back.” It’s still too early to say if that is the case, but in terms of its post-credits scenes, it just might be.

The Fantastic Four: First Steps is currently playing in theaters. The next MCU movie will be Spider-Man: Brand New Day on July 31st, 2026. That’ll be followed by Avengers: Doomsday on December 18, 2026, and Avengers: Secret Wars on December 17, 2027.