Black Panther: Wakanda Forever Producer Debunks Rumors About End Credit Scenes
The post-credit scene craze may have exploded in recent years, but it's not a new phenomenon. Per Collider, a 1966 James Bond parody called "The Silencers" is the progenitor of the movement, with a post-credit sequence offering one more clip of the movie's womanizing spy. More films, especially comedies, followed suit in the 1970s and 1980s, including "Meatballs" (1979), "Airplane!" (1980), and "Ferris Bueller's Day Off" (1986).
No mode of cinematic storytelling has benefited more from the post-credit scene than franchises, and series like "The Matrix" and "The Fast and the Furious" have used the technique to tease future films or for world-building purposes. Perhaps no studio has used this to greater effect than Marvel. The entertainment juggernaut first employed what has since become their calling card in "Iron Man" (2008), and it has become a staple of the MCU experience, especially among rabid Marvel fans for whom spoiling a post-credit scene is a crime punishable by death.
With "Black Panther: Wakanda Forever" set to hit theaters in November, fans have been quietly hoping for a juicy post-credit reveal. Now, producer Nate Moore says end credit scenes were never on the table.
Black Panther: Wakanda Forever will provide an emotional sense of closure
When "Black Panther" was released in 2018, audiences were gifted with two end credit scenes — one with T'Challa addressing the United Nations and the other featuring Bucky Barnes. With "Black Panther: Wakanda Forever" closing out Phase Four of the MCU, fans were naturally anticipating post-credit scenes that would introduce Phase Five. Per producer Nate Moore, there were never plans to include such scenes.
In an interview with Collider, Moore addressed the rumors of a post-credit scene and the studio's decision to eschew it. "I've heard those rumors, too. No, I think the subject matter of the film was such that it didn't feel appropriate to have, then, a stinger." Moore compared "Black Panther: Wakanda Forever" with "Avengers: Endgame," noting that each film has a sense of closure. "Much like ['Avengers:] Endgame' felt like an emotional experience that you also didn't need a stinger at the end of this. This felt like we just wanted to tell the story as it was conceived without an added bonus. So, unfortunately there isn't an end credits [scene]."
Indeed, "Black Panther: Wakanda Forever" will be highly emotional, given the death of Chadwick Boseman. The end credits, then, will serve as a cathartic conclusion to this chapter of the "Black Panther" story. With the upcoming film set to introduce new characters and a new Black Panther to boot, the movie alone should offer enough hints as to the future of the MCU. "Black Panther: Wakanda Forever" hits theaters on November 11.
Black Panther: Wakanda Forever will offer plenty of hints about the future of the MCU
Many post-credit scenes in the MCU tend to provide some humor in the film's final moments (cue the Avengers' trip to the Shawarma Palace or Bruce Banner's sleepy therapist in "Iron Man 3"). While this levity is often necessary after a dense, dazzling conclusion, it would be ham-handed in a more mournful movie like "Black Panther: Wakanda Forever."
With the "Black Panther" sequel set to introduce a new Black Panther, the movie alone should offer enough hints to satisfy audiences regarding the future of the MCU. It will also introduce new characters, like Riri Williams, also known as Ironheart (Dominique Thorne), who will be the subject of a forthcoming series on Disney+. Aneka (Michaela Coel), a skilled Wakanda warrior, will also appear in "Black Panther: Wakanda Forever."
"Black Panther: Wakanda Forever" hits theaters on November 11.