Every 2023 Post Credits Movie Scene Explained

The third Ant-Man movie sees Scott Lang (Paul Rudd) once again donning the size-altering suit, and teaming up with his girlfriend and fellow hero Hope Van Dyne (Evangeline Lilly) — aka The Wasp — as they venture into the Quantum Realm. In tow are Scott's daughter, Cassie (Kathryn Newton), and Hope's parents, Hank and Janet (Michael Douglas and Michelle Pfeiffer) — the latter of whom have been to the Quantum Realm before, but discover it is now very different under the rule of the despotic villain Kang the Conqueror (Jonathan Majors).

In the first of two post-credits scenes — and in a homage to a classic comic book panel – Kang's defeat is shown to not be as final as it seems. We witness hundreds of variants of Kang, discussing how to avenge their recently defeated ally in a chilling moment that gives us a peek at what to expect in the coming films.

Finally, we see the first theatrical appearance of Loki (Tom Hiddleston) since 2019, as the God of Mischief comes face to face with another of Kang's variants during a science lecture. Given that the scene is set during the early 20th century — where Loki is still working with agent Mobius (Owen Wilson) — it is a clear teaser for the second season of "Loki," and one that goes to show just how far-reaching Kang's presence will be in the next phase of the MCU. 

One of only a handful of films on this list that is outside of an existing franchise, the Adam Driver-led sci-fi thriller "65" took audiences back in time to a brief period when dinosaurs — and aliens — roamed the Earth. 65 million years in our past, Driver's Captain Mills is on a deep space journey that goes horribly wrong, leaving him and one other survivor stranded on a mysterious and hostile planet that we quickly discover is Earth. Forced to contend against massive dinosaurs and an impending mass extinction event, the unlikely duo manages to escape the doomed planet in the nick of time by the film's end. So what exactly could the post-credits scene add?

As far as the story is concerned, not too much. As the credits roll, the disastrous effects of the planet-decimating asteroid are shown, as well as the subsequent millennia of evolution that follow. The significance of this, however, also dispels the potential twist of Driver's character being a time traveler, which some had predicted. Captain Mills' arrival on Earth doesn't change the course of history — the asteroid still collides with the planet — and the events that follow don't seem to differ from what we know. The finality of this scene also means that the chances of a sequel are pretty unlikely, which is only compounded by the lackluster box office performance of "65."

The "John Wick" series needs little introduction. Debuting nearly a decade ago, the simple action-packed revenge thriller has evolved into something much bigger, with the latest installment finding Wick (Keanu Reeves) at his lowest point. Beaten and betrayed by Winston (Ian McShane) — and now the High Table's biggest target — the stakes have never been higher. In a first for the franchise, "John Wick: Chapter 4" features a brief but crucial post-credits scene, following a particularly shocking ending.

Though we're led to believe John Wick is dead by the end of "Chapter 4," this doesn't mean that every loose string has been tied up. With Caine (Donnie Yen), the victor of Wick's final duel, still alive, we're given a final shot of Akira (Rina Sawayama) stalking him — looking to exact revenge on behalf of her late father. Since the film's release, director Chad Stahelski has opened up on what exactly the scene means, both for Akira and for the future of the franchise, stating, "Does Rina go down that road? You know, we have John Wick and his demise, and we're like, 'Well, let's open the door to the new John,' like, 'Who's the new...' And we're like, 'Akira.'"

When it comes to video games their cinematic adaptations rarely do well in Hollywood. That all changed in 2023 with "The Super Mario Bros. Movie," a film that broke the mold and delivered on the series' decades-long heritage. With an all-star lineup of comedy talent led by Chris Pratt, plumber brothers Mario (Pratt) and Luigi (Charlie Day) become embroiled in a war between Princess Peach's (Anya Taylor-Joy) Mushroom Kingdom, and the evil Bowser's (Jack Black) Koopas.

Audiences are treated to two scenes after the movie, the first of which gives us one last look at Jack Black's memorable singing of "Peaches" as Bowser, now from behind bars. Next up — and back in real-world Brooklyn — we watch as a familiar spotted egg begins to hatch, with Yoshi the dinosaur shouting his name. With the film making more than $1.3 billion worldwide, a sequel is all but confirmed, so it seems we'll be seeing more of Yoshi down the line.

The "Fast and the Furious" films have become some of Hollywood's most iconic — and profitable — titles. Starting off as a simple heist story with a heavy focus on the driving element, the stakes — and the action set-pieces — have gotten bigger with every new release. 2023's "Fast X" — the first half of the epic finale to the franchise — continued this trajectory. This time, Dante Reyes (Jason Momoa) — the son of an old enemy of Dominic Toretto (Vin Diesel) — arrives on the scene looking to avenge his late father by any means necessary.

At the end of the movie, the fates of all our heroes are up in the air thanks to Dante. To make matters more complicated, the post-credits scene delivers a surprising reveal, in which Dom's on-again-off-again friend Hobbs (Dwayne Johnson) gets a call from Dante warning him that he's next. Johnson's absence was felt in "F9: The Fast Saga," so this sting seemingly confirming his return for the concluding chapter gives fans a huge reason to be excited. It also makes for the series' most thrilling cliffhanger, one that shows nobody is safe from Dante's wrath.

It seems that just about every superhero movie is playing with the concept of the multiverse lately, and this year "The Flash" joined their ranks in force. Still mourning the death of his mother and the wrongful imprisonment of his father decades later, Barry Allen (Ezra Miller) decides to try and right the wrongs of his past. While doing that is deceptively easy, the march of time isn't willing to change without a fight.

Given the two-and-a-half hours of multiverse madness that is "The Flash," with almost too many cameos and callbacks to count, the sole post-credits scene is surprisingly low-key. As the credits roll, it cuts to The Flash and Aquaman (Jason Momoa) — who at one point in the mix-up never even existed — sitting in a bar together. Trying to wrap their heads around the concept of the multiverse that we just saw, Aquaman opts to call it a night, lying in a drunken stupor on the street. It is undoubtedly a much-needed comedic moment after the emotional gut-punch of an ending, even if it doesn't mean much in the grand scheme of things.

Easily one of the year's most unexpected successes at the box office — and one of the most controversial — "Sound of Freedom" chronicles the struggles between law enforcement and child traffickers across the Americas. It stars Jim Caviezel as Tim Ballard — an agent employed by Homeland Security Investigations — who leaves his career behind to try and track down a missing child, which leads him deep into the jungles of Colombia.

Given that "Sound of Freedom" is a far cry from the rest of this year's releases, it stands to reason that its post-credits sequence would similarly be unlike any of the other entries we've discussed. After taking out a cartel leader and reuniting Rocío (Cristal Aparicio) with her family, wrapping up the film on a positive note, an epilogue plays showing the real-life Tim Ballard the film is based on, with footage from his Congressional hearings on child trafficking. It states that more people exist in slavery in the present day than at any point in history, with many of them being children. To push the message even further, Caviezel — as himself, this time — returns to the screen encouraging audiences to share this film with others in the hope that they can see an end to child trafficking for good. 

The "Saw" franchise followed up the experimental "Spiral: From the Book of Saw" with another unique take on the horror premise in the Jigsaw-centered "Saw X." In this sequel, set between the first two movies, John Kramer (Tobin Bell) gets duped by scammers who stole his money for a fake cancer treatment in Mexico. The ending reveals a series of twists, but John eventually ends up on top while most of the rest of the cast die. He then returns, in the movie's post-credits scene, to the man who set him up in the first place.

Patient viewers got to see a mid-credits scene in which John returns to the States and tracks down Henry Kessler (Michael Beach), the man who first told him about the fake treatment. In the sequence, we're back in the bathroom from the original "Saw," where John has Henry tied up with a gruesome new trap attached to his stomach. This is the final image we see before "Saw X" cuts to its final credits.

In addition to being a nice homage to the film that started everything off, this scene implies that Henry was in on the grift from the start — a fact left ambiguous until the very end of the movie. 

If you've seen a superhero movie in theaters any time in the past decade, it will come as no surprise to you that "Blue Beetle" has two end credits sequences: a mid-credits scene and a post-credits bonus bit.

The first is pretty critical to the plot, although it doesn't tie into any DCEU material outside of "Blue Beetle." In the film, Jaime Reyes (Xolo Maridueña) meets Jenny Kord (Bruna Marquezine), whose father Ted Kord was previously the Blue Beetle before Jaime takes up the mantle. Throughout the movie, Ted is missing and presumed to be dead. But in the movie's mid-credits scene, we return to the original, now-abandoned Blue Beetle lair where, out of the blue, the shape of a man appears on its computer screen. This being says that he is Ted Kord, and that he's still alive and looking for his daughter. This ending scene is almost certainly a set-up for a "Blue Beetle" sequel.

The post-credits scene in "Blue Beetle," meanwhile, is the second half of a joke. It's a short montage of claymation clips from the "El Chapulín Colorado" animated series, a Mexican superhero parody from the '70s. This character feels like a big inspiration for director Ángel Manuel Soto and how he brought live-action DC its first Latino superhero.

No, you weren't bamboozled if you saw "Barbie" when it originally came to theaters and missed this post-credits sequence. When Greta Gerwig's much-anticipated blockbuster first hit the theaters the same day as "Oppenheimer," there was no post-credits anything. A montage of deleted scenes, outtakes, and bloopers was added at the end for the IMAX re-release of the film in September 2023.

This extended blooper reel is full of little goofs and gags that didn't make it into the final cut of the movie. New scenes include an exchange between Ryan Gosling's Ken and Weird Barbie (Kate McKinnon), Gosling singing a spoof of Cyndi Lauper's "Girls Just Want to Have Fun," and Midge the pregnant doll going into labor. We didn't think it possible, but there are also many more references to Mattel toys like Barney, Hot Wheels, and Thomas the Tank Engine. There's also just a bunch of silly lines and improvisations, sure to put a smile on everyone's face, that finally get to see the light of day.

"Five Nights at Freddy's" is a popular horror game franchise about creepy animatronic robots possessed by the spirits of dead children. In the first game, you play as a security guard working inside the rundown Freddy Fazbear's Pizza — similar to places like Chuck E. Cheese — and must survive five nights (hence the title) without getting killed by the aforementioned animatronics.

The 2023 feature film adaptation follows much of the same beats as the original game, while of course expanding on the characters' backstories. In the film, Mike Schmidt (Josh Hutcherson), the security guard protagonist from the first game, is entrusted with taking care of his disabled sister, Abby (Piper Rubio). Mike then accepts the shady job offer at Freddy Fazbear's to keep custody of her.

Eventually, the ghost children possessing the animatronics want to turn Abby into one of them. Freddy even comes to Mike and Abby's home to kidnap her. Afterward, Abby and Freddy take a taxi back to Fazbear's Pizza in a comedic scene, as the driver (played by YouTuber CoryxKenshin) is seemingly unperturbed by Freddy's appearance.

In a mid-credits scene, the taxi driver returns, only to be menaced by Balloon Boy — an animatronic character who appears in the game "Five Nights at Freddy's 2" — and who is seen sporadically throughout the film. It's a funny, if inconsequential, sequence. However, there's also an eerie after-credits moment where a creepy electronic voice appears to say, "Find me" or "Come find me."