The Marvel Cinematic Universe has become famous for their films having mid/post credit scenes. True fans and even the person who has only seen a handful of MCU movies knows to stay in the theater and watch the credits roll.
Mid/Post credit scenes have existed before the MCU and there are even other franchises who incorporate these scenes (joining the Marvel bandwagon). Despite this history and competition, the MCU is still master of the mid/post credit scene.
MCU mid/post credit scenes tend to be hilarious moments or sneak peeks of what to come. Back in Phase One of the MCU, there was usually one post credit scene per movie. Now in Phase 3, one can usually expect one mid-credit and one post-credit scene per movie (a total of two).
There is also this trend in Phase 3 for more comedic MCU movies (like Thor: Ragnarok, Ant Man and the Wasp and Spiderman: Homecoming) to have the mid-credit scene be plot-based and the actual post-credit scene be a joke.
(That Homecoming post credit scene with Captain America was just cruel but still funny)
It’s a little debatable but also another trend is that the mid-credit scene tends to be more important than the post-credit scene that happens afterward.
The biggest argument against this trend is the mid/post credit scenes from Doctor Strange. In that movie, the mid-credit scene is Doctor Strange talking to Thor during the events of Ragnarok while the post credit scene is Mordo (former friend of Strange) stealing the magic away from a sorcerer.
Personally, for the MCU as a large, the Strange/Thor is more important but for Strange’s future, the Mordo scene is more significant. It’s a fair debate on which one matters more. However, for most of the other Phase 3 MCU films, the mid-credit scene is more crucial than the post credit scene.
It also makes why this is true. For example, the mid-credit scene can occur relatively fast after the actual movie is over and is more likely to catch the attention of an audience member who is trying to leave the theater.
Meanwhile, it’s very unlikely you accidentally see the post credits scene. Most of the time, if you see it, it’s because you want to see it/ know about it.
There is also the case that for some reason you don’t have enough time to see the post credits scene and only have a chance of seeing the mid-credit scene. It’s smart to have the mid-credit scene be more tied to the plot and characters of the film you just watched.
One exception (kinda) to this strategy though is Infinity War. It had a post credit scene and no mid-credit scene. Though that makes sense, considering how the film ended.
Viewers had to sit through the pain and the desire for hope increased as the credits rolled, finally climaxing with the post credit scene which should have hopefully given every fan hope. Captain Marvel will save the MCU (maybe).
Captain Marvel and Avengers 4 are the last two films of Phase 3 for the MCU. I can’t even imagine what’s going to happen in Avengers 4 so I don’t want to think about the mid/post credit scenes.
Though Captain Marvel will probably be less comedic than Ant Man and the Wasp so I don’t think there’s going to be a funny post credit scene. In fact, I bet there might just be one mid/post credit scene.
If there are two scenes, then I predict one will be Captain Marvel receiving Fury’s signal and the other will be Hawkeye watching his family fade to dust (please do it Marvel, heh). Or maybe there could be a scene that’s more space-based and hints at conflicts not on Earth. One more option I foresee is maybe showing a little more of what happens to Ant-Man after the Thanos Snap.
Now that I think about it, yes there should be two mid/post credit scenes for Captain Marvel. My top picks though are the Captain Marvel and Hawkeye scenes.
8 months until Captain Marvel, 10 months until Avengers 4!
