Fans Are Angry At Avengers: Endgame Over This One Thing
A mind-blowing achievement in filmmaking, a flawless culmination of the entire Marvel Cinematic Universe thus far, a love letter to both the comic book icons who create the characters and to the fans that adore them, an emotional thrill-ride that pays off everything it builds up — this is what people are describing Avengers: Endgame as. It's mostly been positivity all around for Endgame — "mostly" being the operative word here. Reviews from critics are stellar, with the film scoring Certified Fresh distinction on Rotten Tomatoes less than 24 hours after the review embargo lifted, but response from fans has been less so... and that's putting it lightly.
Marvel enthusiasts are actually angry at Avengers: Endgame over one thing: it doesn't feature a post-credits scene.
Shock-horror, we know, as it's customary in the MCU for each installment to cap off with at least one sequence after the credits have rolled. In some cases, after the dust settles and the screen fades to black, viewers feast their eyes on a mid-credits moment plus an extra bit that plays minutes later. Avengers: Endgame is no such film and has zero of these scenes, much to the outrage and confusion of fans across the globe.
After several sources confirmed that Endgame goes without a single scene to cap things off, and following the international debut of the film earlier this week, fans took to social media to lodge complaints and express bewilderment.
"I'm actually emotional over the fact that #AvengersEndGame won't have any post-credits scene[s]," Twitter user Roschelle Apa said, adding a pair of frowning face emojis to her post. "It's the end of an era, y'all."
Another admitted that he "waited like an idiot" for 15 minutes after Endgame was over, hoping for a mid- or post-credits scene to play out on screen. He advised that everyone not make the same mistake he did.
There were many more moviegoers who weren't aware that no additional footage would screen after Endgame. User @AndyBelluna explained that an entire theater full of people were irritated when they made the realization: "The movie has no post-credits scene, but we didn't know, so the whole cinema sat still and waited through the credits just to see a black screen afterwards. Everyone was SO pissed and absolutely done with their lives."
On the flip side, one fan who saw the film already explained that no one in her screening actually got up after the movie was over, despite knowing that a post-credits scene wasn't coming. She wrote on Twitter, "As reported, there's no extra footage after the credits (it's true), everybody knew it and also the cinema staff told us, but nobody left. I told them it's not that we don't trust you, we're just too shook to move."
A few fans said that it "really hurts" that Avengers: Endgame doesn't have a post-credits stinger or mid-credits treat, while another joked that they'll feel like a clown "when the lights come up after #AvengersEndgame and there really are no post-credit scenes."
Someone else announced plans to stay in the theater until the projector stops running and the lights flicker back on, suspecting that reports of Endgame going sans-post-credits-scenes aren't true but instead a purposeful prank executed by Marvel to surprise audiences. "Even if @Russo_Brothers Himself say there are no post credit scenes, I'm not outta my seat until the last line roll out on screen," they tweeted. "What if it's a trap.. #ThingsMarvelFansAreUsedTo."
However, Marvel isn't the kind of studio to make rash decisions or settle on an idea without thinking it through. The company is like Doctor Strange in that way: it can see all 14,000,605 possible futures and will always pick the route that leads to the best one. Think about it: For both Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame, co-directors Joe and Anthony Russo gave cast members fake scripts to keep spoilers at bay, crafted promotional footage out of the first 15 minutes of the 3-hour-long movie, and purposely edited trailers to intentionally confuse fans and maintain secrecy around the film. It doesn't appear as though the choice to not tack on a mid- or post-credits scene in Avengers: Endgame was one made at the last minute or without any forethought.
And according to recent rumors, it might actually be a trick. Speculation has it that Marvel could slip in a post-credits scene to Endgame screenings starting on Thursday, April 25, with only early overseas showings and press screenings not featuring anything. This would somewhat mirror what 20th Century Fox did with Deadpool: advanced screenings did include a post-credits scene, but the theatrical cut featured an extended sequence that included the juicy information that Cable would appear in the sequel. That precedent might be reason enough to believe that fans heading to see Endgame as early as Thursday night could experience what others haven't yet. Of course, it's just hearsay for now, but it's something to be aware of at the very least.
If that doesn't happen and Avengers: Endgame truly does continue to conclude right before the credits, it wouldn't be all that bad. It could act as a reminder that Endgame is different from any MCU movie that came before it. As the saying goes, all good things must come to an end – even Marvel's post-credits-scene tradition.