10 Post-Credits Scenes That Weren't Worth Waiting Around For

While it’s always great for audiences to show their support for the hard work the production crew and stars put into a movie, some post-credits scenes truly were not worth the wait. To make a feature film is a major endeavor, so it’s important to give the crew their due and stick around for the credits, but if the only reason a viewer was watching them was to see the final scene or catch a hidden Easter egg, plenty of films would leave them disappointed. As post-credits scenes have become more common in recent years, in some cases, they feel needlessly tacked on and without much depth or interest.

The best post-credits scenes offer something new and exciting for viewers to look forward to. This could be the introduction of a long-awaited character, a new plot point that lays the groundwork for a sequel, or even just one final gag to have viewers laughing as they exit the theater. However, some post-credits scenes just weren’t worth the wait as they set up sequels that never happened or even outright mocked the audience for wasting their time.

10 Black Adam (2022)

Black Adam’s post-credits scene set up a Superman crossover

Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson embraced the superhero genre with the release of Black Adam, a DC Extended Universe movie that featured a major cameo in its post-credits scene. After viewers witnessed the origin story of Teth-Adam, a former slave imbued with the powers of multiple Egyptian gods, the anti-hero came face-to-face with the one DC icon who could potentially rival him in power. That was Superman, and this brief appearance featured the long-awaited return of Henry Cavill in his most famous role.

As Superman told Adam, “We need to talk,” in the post-credits scene, it seemed the DCEU was setting up a crossover movie featuring the two heroes or even a potential confrontation between the pair. However, considering the lackluster response to Black Adam, the character’s cinematic future looks uncertain. This means that this post-credits scene could come to absolutely nothing, meaning Cavill reprised his role as Superman for the first time since Justice League to set up a movie the world may never get to see.

9 Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest

Dead Man’s Chest’s post-credits scene showed the prison dog has become a chief

The Pirates of the Caribbean franchise has had plenty of post-credits scenes throughout its run, although it must be admitted that some of them were more impactful than others. The best post-credits scenes offer new information that can get viewers excited about upcoming installments, while the worst ones often add nothing new of note. The second installment, Dead Man’s Chest, was merely a small add-on that, although harmless and good-natured, did not feel quite urgent enough to be worth waiting for.

This was one final gag as the prison dog employed to hold onto the jailer’s keys at the Fort Charles prison in Port Royal, who viewers might have worried had died, popped up one last time in the post-credits scene. This was where the dog was shown as chief of the cannibalistic tribe, the Pelegostos. While some viewers may have enjoyed this lighthearted ending, those looking for an impactful scene that sets up something new for the sequel will be left disappointed.

8 Ferris Bueller’s Day Off (1986)

Ferris Bueller’s post-credits scene reminds audiences that the movie is over

Long before audiences had come to expect post-credits scenes in franchises like the Marvel Cinematic Universe, they would come as a total surprise. This was certainly the case for Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, whose post-credits scene was somewhat of a hidden Easter egg just waiting to be discovered by those who opted to stay in theaters until all the credits had rolled. This scene featured Ferris talking directly to the camera and acting surprised that viewers were still watching.

Ferris hilariously told audiences, “You’re still here? It’s over. Go home!” While this was a fun opportunity to provide viewers with one last laugh before Ferris Bueller had truly come to an end, those expecting any sort of big revelation may have felt short-changed by the emptiness of this final moment. However, the Ferris Bueller post-credits scene has become slightly iconic and has been repeated and parodied by subsequent films, such as Deadpool.

7 Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015)

Age of Ultron post-credits scene gave viewers no new information

The earlier post-credits scenes in the Marvel Cinematic Universe felt totally essential as the extended world laid the groundwork for all the ways its movies were linked with one another and set up the eventual crossover seen in The Avengers. However, not every movie needed a post-credits scene and occasionally, some felt totally pointless. This was certainly the case with Avengers: Age of Ultron, which simply cut to a frustrated Thanos stating, “Fine, I’ll do it myself.”

While this moment foreshadows Thanos’s successful gathering of all of the Infinity Stones and the events of Avengers: Endgame, it also gives audiences absolutely no new information. Viewers were already well aware that Thanos wanted the stones and planned to gather them. After sitting through the credits with the hope of some exciting new information, this brief appearance from Thanos felt tacked on, unnecessary, and a missed opportunity to truly add to the lore of the MCU.

6 Masters of the Universe (1987)

Masters of the Universe post-credits scene set up a sequel that never happened

Masters of the Universe was the 1987 live-action adaptation of He-Man that starred Dolph Lundgren as the sword-wielding hero and Frank Langella as his arch enemy Skeletor. This superhero film was featured as an early example of a post-credits scene long before it had become common. The final moments of Masters of the Universe featured Langella as Skeletor emerging from the water and shouting, “I’ll be back!”

While this moment represents the very best of what a post-credits scene can achieve, as it powerfully sets a sequel, looking back, it feels totally pointless. This was because Masters of the Universe never got a sequel, and Langella did not come back. The commercial failure of Masters of the Universe meant that all plans to continue the movie as a live-action franchise were halted, although the film is now regarded as a cult favorite.

5 Ghostbusters (2016)

Ghostbusters’ post-credits scene suggests a Zuul-based sequel that was not made

The 2016 reboot of Ghostbusters was a hugely divisive film that received widespread criticism before it was even released, with its trailer becoming the most disliked video in YouTube history (via Guardian.) With a polarized reception as some viewers were infuriated by this all-female reboot, Ghostbusters underperformed at the box office, and rather than move forward with a sequel, the series returned to the original canon with Ghostbusters: Afterlife. While this shift in plans for the franchise was better received, it also meant that the post-credits scene in the 2016 Ghostbuster came to nothing.

The Ghostbuster post-credits scene featured a callback to the original movie as Erin (Kristin Wiig), Abby (Melissa McCarthy), Holtzman (Kate McKinnon), and Patty (Leslie Jones) head back to their headquarters and listen to audio recordings. This was when Patty removed her headphones and quizzically asked the others, “What’s Zuul?” Fans of the original movie will be quick to realize that Zuul was the spirit that possessed Dana, and if Ghostbusters had been better received, they would have seen this demonic deity, also known as the Gatekeeper of Gozer, pop up in the franchise once again.

4 X-Men Origins: Wolverine (2009)

X-Men Origins: Wolverine’s post-credits scene hinted at more from Ryan Reynolds’ Deadpool

X-Men Origins: Wolverine was an interesting prequel/spin-off of the X-Men franchise that introduced the world to Ryan Reynolds as Wade Wilson, the superhero also known as Deadpool. However, this was a different version from the one audiences saw in the Deadpool movie, which rebooted the character in a way much more faithful to the original comics. Although it seemed that 20th Century Fox did consider moving forward with this iteration of Deadpool as they included him in a post-credits scene for X-Men Origins: Wolverine.

This post-credits scene showcased the severed head of Wade Wilson, who, in a reference to Deadpool’s signature style of breaking the fourth wall, shushed the audience. This short clip of Deadpool alive and well hinted that audiences could expect to see more of Reynolds and Hugh Jackman. However, that would take 15 years to come true as the pair finally reunited for Deadpool & Wolverine in 2024. Considering all of these haphazard production details, looking back, this post-credits scene seems entirely purposeless.

3 The Avengers (2012)

The Avengers post-credits scene featured the heroic team eating shawarma

The post-credits scenes of many early Marvel Cinematic Universe movies helped lay the groundwork for the epic crossover movie The Avengers. Dating back to Nick Fury telling Tony Stark about “The Avenger Initiative” at the end of Iron Man in 2008, many viewers were expecting big things from the post-credit scene of The Avengers. This made the sheer pointlessness of its shawarma-eating scene all the more funny, as after such an action-packed adventure, audiences witness the superhero team in an incredibly mundane environment in a callback to something Stark said earlier in the movie.

Shawarma sales skyrocketed following the release of The Avengers (via

TMZ

) as Los Angeles viewers turned out in droves to try the Middle Eastern dish.

This hilarious post-credits scene was the definition of nonessential, as it just featured an awkward meal between various disparate characters. While some may have felt this scene was a waste of time, it was also a refreshing relief and a nice piece of slice-of-life fun following the sheer carnage of the movie’s climactic showdown. Depending on who’s being asked, this post-credits scene was either one of the best or the most pointless in the entire MCU.

2 Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017)

Spider-Man: Homecoming’s post-credit scene featured Captain America giving a PSA on patience

Since as far back as Ferris Bueller’s Day Off in 1986, movies have frequently used their post-credits scene to poke fun at audiences for wasting their time by sitting through the entire credits sequence. This was done in a unique manner at the end of Spider-Man: Homecoming, which featured a surprise cameo from Chris Evans as Captain America. The post-credits scene was presented in the form of a public service announcement in which Captain America told audiences about the virtues of patience.

This hilariously pointless PSA featured Captain America telling audiences that patience can often be the “key to victory” but that sometimes it “leads to very little and seems like it’s not worth it, and you wonder why you waited so long for something so disappointing.” This PSA was a direct reference to the post-credits sequence and was a meta-commentary for viewers who sit through the credits just because they are curious about what the final scene will be. While this was one of Marvel’s funniest post-credits scenes, it also felt like a cruel joke to play on loyal viewers.

1 Morbius (2022)

Morbius’s post-credits scene set up a crossover with Michael Keaton’s Vulture

Jared Leto’s foray into the world of superheroes in Sony’s Morbius was a critical and commercial failure that even became an online sensation due to so many internet memes mocking and ridiculing the film. As a five-time Golden Raspberry nominee, with Leto even taking home the award for Worst Actor, Morbius’s sequel plans were quickly halted, and the future of the character remains uncertain. This development meant that its post-credits scenes with Michael Keaton reprising his role as Vulture from Spider-Man: Homecoming were entirely pointless.

Not only does Keaton’s appearance in Morbius feel like a waste of time, but it also defies logic as it uses the multiverse concept to inexplicably bring Keaton from the MCU into Sony’s extended Spider-Man universe. It seemed Vulture himself was aware of the ridiculousness of his newfound circumstances as he told Morbius, “I’m not sure how I got here; it has to do with Spider-Man, I think.” The stilted dialogue, poor special effects, bad acting, and nonsensical plotting made Morbius’s post-credits scene the biggest waste of time of any post-credits scene ever.

Sources: Guardian, TMZ