Kevin Feige discusses Marvel’s method of using post-credits scenes

Kevin Feige has some interesting thoughts on Marvel Studios’ use of post-credits scenes!

Post-credits scenes have been a staple of the Marvel Cinematic Universe since Iron Man hit theaters back in 2008. Sometimes the scenes set up future movies and, at other times, they’re just fun end-tags. The recently released Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 actually has a mixture of these. Audiences have now come to expect them with Marvel movies, and Kevin Feige has specific reasons for including them.

In a recent interview with SlashFilm, Feige explained the origins of the post-credits scenes. He mentioned that it of course began with the famous Nick Fury cameo, and then discussed his love of seeing post-credits scenes in different films when he was younger:

"“Well, Sam Jackson, Iron Man 1 for sure. That’s absolutely how it came about. I always liked that sort of thing, whether it’s Ferris Bueller or Masters of the Universe. As a film nerd, I never wanted it to end. I didn’t want the experience…no matter how good or bad the movie was, just the experience of being in the movie theater, I didn’t want to end. So I would always sit through the credits. My Mom would do that, too. Would read all the names and think it’s so interesting what everybody does. So I would always sit through all the credits and you’re about two-thirds of the way through and it’s like oh should I go? Well maybe there’s, I mean, that one time there was something in that movie. Maybe there’ll be something on this movie. And there never was. Almost never was.”"

He then went on to explain that this led to his desire to use them in his movies as a filmmaker. He also revealed that the idea for the tags can come at any stage of production:

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"“So when I started making movies, I’d be like that’d be fun to do. The Sam Jackson Nick Fury idea came about during production. You’ve heard this story. Sam was willing to do it. We shot it secretly. It leaked the next day. But we didn’t wanna put it in the body of the film ’cause we thought it would be distracting. So we thought we’d put it at the very end of the credits for people who like me when I was a kid could be rewarded for staying and if you stayed that long, you probably knew who Nick Fury was. And what that meant. And then it became a tradition and then it really varies. Sometimes we conceive of the tags during development, sometimes during production, sometimes during post-production.”"

Next: Kevin Feige says MCU films and shows could crossover

It’s interesting to know that Feige’s personal love of post-credits scenes is what led to their inclusion in the MCU. The scenes have been quite significant not only for the Marvel films, but also for studios like Warner Bros., who now are crafting their own cinematic universes and using post-credits scenes in films to link them (i.e. Suicide Squad, Kong: Skull Island).

Watching how other studios use the tags in the future will be intriguing to see. But, of course, we’ll always be excited to sit through the credits of any upcoming MCU film to see what’s in store for us.