There are plenty of theories surrounding Endgame, but there is one thing everyone can say with pretty much 100% certainty: when the final credits roll for the next Avengers movie, it will be the end of one of the greatest story arcs in cinema history. When it comes to Marvel movies, the final credits may signify the end of the film, but they are usually the beginning to much more. Endgame is a different beast. The is the movie that will bring the entire story to its conclusion. What could the post credits scene give us? Are they even necessary?
Eleven years after it all began, The Infinity Saga is about to come to an end. Over the course of the twenty something films that have been released, fans have been treated to a bevy of post credit scenes. Some of them have been incredibly important to setting the stage for what is to come like the Avenger Initiative moment at the end of Iron Man. Others have been a little more tongue in cheek like in Spider-Man: Homecoming. Then there are the ones that have yet to be fully explained like from Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 2. The one thing they have all done is set up stories to come.
What better way for Endgame to close out the first storyline than to have no post credit scenes? Infinity War was an emotional gut punch that left everyone reeling. It set up the final movie perfectly. Fans of the MCU are trained to stick around and see what is going to happen next in the franchise. If Kevin Feige and the rest of Marvel Studios really want to hammer home this is the end of the first story arc, having the end credits roll uninterrupted from beginning to end would do it.
Imagine seeing Endgame that first night. You have been glued to your seat for three hours, Ant-Man has invaded Thanos en route to victory, and a wave of satisfaction courses through your body as the end credits roll. You sit there eagerly taking everything in and wait for the tease of what is next. Something on a cosmic scale? A character we have never seen before? SNIKT?
Then, the credits end. Nothing is seen or heard. Just a list of everyone who had anything to do with the making of the movie. The rest of the audience shuffle out of the theater confused by what has just happened. You walk out with your friends prepared to talk about Endgame, but you only have one thing on your mind. “What the hell just happened?”
And just like that, it hits you. The first story arc of the MCU has come to an end. No matter who lives or dies, an era is over. There have been individual stories and adventures, but everything has been leading to this. No matter what villain was defeated, there was always the looming dragon in the background threatening to take everything over. And now that dragon has been conquered. Any post credit scene after would almost seem emotionally counterproductive.
Which is not to say there should never be a large connected story again. Part of the fun of the MCU is watching the characters get together and interact with each other. We already know the franchise will continue. Far From Home will be released in July and the shows set for Disney + will tie into the bigger universe. To maximize the emotional impact and significance of what is happening, there should be no post credit scenes in Endgame. Let the audience take in every they have just seen. Then, with the release of the next Spider-Man movie we do it all again. That would be the right time to tease the next big story in the MCU.
Having no end credit scenes would be a weird sight. As it is, audiences will groan if they do not like the ones that are shown. Deciding to have nothing at all will definitely disappoint some people. But it is also the right thing to do. There is already a lot of emotion heading into Endgame. To let audiences fully comprehend the gravity of what they have just seen, save the post credit stuff for Far From Home. A simple fade to black would be more powerful than any snap.
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