Post-credits Scene - Modern Examples

Modern Examples

Stingers lacking the metafictional aspects also gained prominence in the 1980s, although they were still primarily used for comedy films. Post-credits scenes became useful places for humorous scenes that would not fit in the main body of the film. Most were short clips that served to tie together loose ends—minor characters whose fates were not elaborated on earlier in the movie, or plotlines that were not fully wrapped up.

When Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace was released in theaters, at the end of the credits the screen went black, and Darth Vader's iconic breathing was heard, reminding people of the destiny of the young Anakin.

Even when post-credit scenes started to be used by films with little comedy development, the same format of giving closure to incomplete storylines or inconsequential characters remained in use. Using humor in such scenes is also still common for more serious films, as in the film Hellboy when Tom Manning is shown still wandering around the catacombs where he was last seen previously in the film when the other major players have left.

Various Marvel films have post-credits sequences. One that uses comedy in development is Daredevil, in which Bullseye is shown after his defeat by Daredevil in a full body cast. Other films eschew the comedy in favor of a twist or revelation that would be out of place elsewhere in the movie, as in X-Men: The Last Stand's post-credits scene, which suggests that Professor X may have transferred his mind to the body of a comatose patient (which was revealed in the DVD commentary to be the identical twin of Charles Xavier, whose mind had been crippled and destroyed due to Charles's growing powers in utero). In The Amazing Spider-Man, an imprisoned Curt Connors has a conversation with a mysterious man who appears in the cell. The man asks if he told Peter Parker the truth about his father, Connors replies "No" and tells him to leave Parker alone as the man disappears.

Marvel Studios also uses post-credits scenes to develop connections for its cinematic universe, starting with Iron Man which had Samuel L. Jackson appear as Nick Fury to recruit Tony Stark for the "Avenger Initiative". The post-credit scenes of the subsequent films, with the exception of The Incredible Hulk, connected the films together to set up the 2012 Avengers film, which had two of its own post-credits scenes. The first showed the Other conferring with Thanos about the attack on Earth. The second included the Avengers in a diner, eating shawarma in silence. In Iron Man 3, Tony recounts his events to Bruce Banner, who falls asleep after failing to tell him that he's "not that kind of doctor".

Pixar uses scenes during the credits as well as post-credits scenes to provide the film's epilogue. These also serve as a vehicle for self-referential jokes in films such as Cars, in which the characters are seen watching automotive versions of previous Pixar films during the closing credits. Finding Nemo, Cars and Brave are currently the only Pixar films to feature a post-credits scene.

The Pirates of the Caribbean films each include post-credits scenes, some of which affect the plot in following films. Most notably, Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl shows Jack the Monkey taking a medallion from the chest, explaining why he is still cursed in the later films. The second film features a throwaway gag, and the third provides a vision of Will Turner and Elizabeth Swann's future. On Stranger Tides shows Angelica finding the voodoo doll of Jack Sparrow before slightly smiling.

Some TV series also use post-credits sequences - the American animated series The Venture Bros. has a post credits scene in almost every episode, as does the British soap opera Hollyoaks.

The TV series 24 has a post-credits scene, "The Arrest of Chloe", which appears only in the Blu-ray release of the final season.

The 2013 movie, Texas Chainsaw 3D, a post-credits scene shows Leatherface run out of the door and chase 2 people, opening for a sequel.