Post-Credits Scenes That Were Cut From The Movie

Whenever anyone goes to see a movie in theaters, many will also stick around in the auditorium until the lights come back on, just to make sure there isn't a post-credit scene lurking. Once a domain associated with wacky and anarchic comedies like "The Muppet Movie" or titles in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, now a wide array of movies utilize post-credit scenes. These stingers can be waiting in almost any film of any genre, either during the end credits or after they've finished rolling — and sometimes both. Often these scenes are meant to tee up sequels, other times they pay off a running gag seen earlier in the film. Or in the case of "The Disaster Artist," they can make room for cameos that would have otherwise been distracting during the movie proper. 

The endless ways credit sequences can be utilized makes it clear why they're so ubiquitous in modern cinema, though that doesn't mean every proposed credit scene gets off the ground. Sometimes, even the most tantalizing notions for post-credit scenes end up on the cutting room floor for an array of reasons: perhaps the sequence just wasn't working, or the director wanted to eschew this staple of 21st century moviegoing. Even with the popularity of credit scenes today, these unrealized and cut end-credit scenes show that it is much harder to craft these sequences than audiences might think.

The ending of "Black Adam" has one of the more standout superhero movie credit sequences in recent memory. The scene depicts the return of Henry Cavill's Superman, teasing a duel between him and Dwayne Johnson's Black Adam — and it got fans very excited. This showdown would never be realized, though, with DC Studios heads James Gunn and Peter Safran opting to go in a new direction and David Corenswet replacing Cavill for "Superman: Legacy." With all the talk over this Superman and Black Adam credit scene, it's easy to forget that "Black Adam" was set to feature another credit sequence that would've teased the revival of a seemingly deceased superhero.

In the wake of "Black Adam's" release, The Direct reported that there was initially supposed to be a second credit sequence explicitly teasing out the return of the character of Doctor Fate — portrayed in the movie by Pierce Brosnan — though it was left ambiguous who would now be wielding the character's powers. The existence of this sequence was never officially confirmed by either Warner Bros. or the creative team behind "Black Adam," however, it does line up with comments made by Dwayne Johnson about Doctor Fate's future. On Twitter, Johnson responded to a fan's tweet about "Black Adam" by promising that Doctor Fate would return in future DC blockbusters. This reported post-credits scene could've been a way to make that promise more explicit, though given how Warner Bros. would eventually abandon expanding the world of "Black Adam," it would've ended up being another unrealized tease for the future.

"Avengers: Endgame" was meant to be the definitive end of an era, hence why it contained the on-screen demise of Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr.) and the retirement of Steve Rogers' Captain America (Chis Evans). With the tone of this particular project, it was no surprise that initial screenings of "Endgame" didn't contain any post-credit scene of any kind — though the credits did contain special on-screen signatures from the six initial stars of "The Avengers." This wasn't a movie necessarily setting up years of new stories, but rather determined to wrap up one age of Marvel Cinematic Universe storytelling with a neat bow. However, originally, "Avengers: Endgame" was supposed to feature a credit sequence that would've teed up the first Marvel Studios Disney+ TV show.

Speaking to IMDb, Paul Bettany revealed that initially "Endgame" would've contained a credit scene depicting the corpse of Vision being unzipped from a body bag. With the benefit of hindsight, this segment would've set up the events of "WandaVision" and suggested to viewers that this particular Avenger's story wasn't done yet. However, Bettany was later informed by Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige that this sequence was getting left on the cutting room floor. The actor wasn't given any official reason for why the credit scene was axed, though perhaps Feige and company realized "Avengers: Endgame" worked better without any teases of the MCU's future so that it felt more complete.

Unlike many other modern-day blockbuster franchises, the "Fast & Furious" movies don't regularly go to the well of post-credit scenes. These features aren't opposed to them, as seen by the post-credits tease of "Fast Five" showing Letty (Michelle Rodriguez) being alive, and the mid-credits reveal of "Fast X" letting us know that Luke Hobbs (Dwayne Johnson) was coming back to the series. When the series began back in 2001, credit sequences just weren't as common, and for the most part, the "Fast & Furious" movies haven't included a sequel tease in the credits. However, one instance of a "Fast & Furious" credit scene was derailed for a very specific reason pertaining to this franchise's biggest star.

Reportedly, "The Fate of the Furious" was supposed to feature a sequence either during or after its credits that would've further teed up the rapport between Hobbs and Deckard Shaw (Jason Statham) before the pair teamed up for the 2019 spin-off film "Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw." However, this scene was apparently jettisoned after Vin Diesel grew frustrated over the scene's very existence. After contacting Universal Pictures executives, Diesel got this credit sequence removed. This alleged turn of events would fit right in with the long-standing rivalry between Diesel and Johnson, which even extended to the world of "Fast & Furious" post-credit scenes.

The video game adaptation "Gran Turismo" is a movie all about cars going fast. Given the ubiquity of automobiles in this particular feature, it is perhaps surprising that Orlando Bloom's character Danny Moore never once steps behind the wheel of a car during the movie's runtime. Most viewers probably won't even notice or care about this detail, but Bloom was itching to finally put the pedal to the metal in front of the camera. At one point in time, Bloom would've gotten his wish in the form of a post-credit scene. Director Neil Blomkamp revealed to MotorTrend that there were once plans to finally give Bloom his big driving scene in "Gran Turismo" in a tiny sequence detached from the rest of the movie during the credits. 

However, to make this scene a reality, Bloom had to prove to the stunt team he was capable of stepping behind the wheel of a car without hurting anyone. During Bloom's big test drive, however, things went awry and he ended up crashing the car. Nobody was hurt in this incident and Blomkamp insisted that he still felt Bloom was a perfectly capable driver under normal circumstances. However, with this crash, Bloom was unable to drive a car on the set of "Gran Turismo," which ensured that the movie's proposed post-credits scene would never get out of the pit lane.

Part of why "Barbie" was such a glorious cinematic experience was because of its willingness to provide so many delightful surprises to the viewer. Whether it was in the complicated direction that the feature took Ryan Gosling's Ken or the way writer and director Greta Gerwig wrung such powerful pathos out of a movie that often got so wacky, "Barbie" was always giving people the unexpected. One other way it subverted expectations was by not delivering a post-credit scene of any kind. Though the initial burst of end credits is accompanied by recreations of vintage Barbie doll ads, there's nothing waiting for moviegoers at the very end.

However, per an episode of the Art of the Cut podcast with Steve Hullfish, a cut scene with the pregnant doll Midge (Emerald Fennell) actually giving birth would've functioned as an end-credits scene. That sequence would've also contained an on-screen appearance from Helen Mirren, who otherwise only appears in "Barbie" as an omniscient voice-over narrator. While images from this sequence have emerged online, there has yet to be an official reason offered for why this particular scene was axed. It's also currently unclear if the announced post-credit sequence on the IMAX cut of "Barbie" will be this Midge scene or something entirely. Still, even with so much uncertainty surrounding this particular Midge-heavy sequence, "Barbie" had plenty of joy to offer audiences in its initial theatrical run even without a post-credit scene.