The more movies that are released, the more the movies don’t actually end when the credits roll. In fact, audiences have now come to expect a post-credits scene or at least a mid-credits scene, and they now stay in the multiplex until the very end of the long list of the cast and crew, much to the ushers’ dismay.
The Marvel Cinematic Universe arguably started the trend, but outside of superhero movies and other franchises, it was unlikely to find a post-credits scene in a drama or crime movie. However, these kinds of scenes can now be found in any genre of film, including some that are pretty surprising, and others that did it long before the MCU popularized it.
The Fast And The Furious (2001)
Before all of the action-packed sequels in which Dom and his family carry out insane missions that not even the military are cut out for, there was 2 Fast 2 Furious, a sequel that Dom wasn’t even in. However, there is a post-credits scene in The Fast and the Furious that not many people know about.
It depicts Dom driving in a muscle car on the run from the feds, and it strongly alludes to a realistic sequel much different from what audiences saw in 2 Fast 2 Furious. Considering how the realism of the first movie is why the film is better without any sequels, a Dom-driven follow up as depicted in the post-credits scene could have been incredible.
Django Unchained (2012)
Everybody knows about the more well known mid-credits scene in Quentin Tarantino’s most recent movie, Once Upon A Time In Hollywood, in which Rick Dalton is shooting a commercial for Red Apple cigarettes, but nobody knows that there’s one final scene in Django Unchained that comes after the credits.
It’s more of a fun clip that was seemingly cut from the actual movie, which further implies how Django is a perfect protagonist. The clip sees one of the slaves, who was held captive by the mining company escorts, still in the cage and exclaim, “who was that n*****?!”
Wall-E (2008)
As if Wall-E didn’t pull at the heartstrings enough, Pixar takes one more shot with the post-credits scene. In the scene, the iconic Pixar mascot, the jumping lamp, has its lightbulb go out. In a way that breaks the fourth wall, Wall-E rolls in to the shot and replaces the light bulb before patting the lamp on its head.
It’s one final time in which grown adults will groan, “awww” from the compassion between Wall-E and another living being, one of the reasons why it’s one of the best Pixar movies.
Harold & Kumar Escape From Guantanamo Bay (2008)
One of the best things about the Harold & Kumar movie series is Neil Patrick Harris, who plays himself in all three movies, but in the world of Harold & Kumar, Neil Patrick Harris is a sex-crazed violent lunatic.
In the middle of Escape From Guantanamo Bay, Harris gets gruesomely shot several times in the back with a shotgun by a prostitute when running out of a whorehouse. In the post-credits scene, Harris is found still alive, drooling and bloody, crawling along the grass.
Hercules (1997)
Though there isn’t actually any visual to go with it, Hercules features one of the best post-credits Easter eggs that nobody knows about, and it again breaks the fourth wall but in an interesting way.
Being the only character to not get a happy, fulfilling ending in the Disney movie, Hades comments on exactly that. He goes on a giant tirade about how it isn’t fair that he drew the short straw, and he then goes on to complain that nobody is listening to him.
The Matrix Reloaded (2003)
The Matrix is an incredible movie and it changed the landscape of filmmaking tenfold with its incredible and unprecedented special effects, not to mention a complex and philosophical narrative. Though some can’t exactly be said for the following two movies, the whole series is one of the underrated trilogies you need to binge-watch.
As the second and third movies in the series were released six months apart, the post-credits surprise in The Matrix Reloaded is a masterclass in marketing, as it isn’t an added scene or a goofy throwaway joke, but it’s instead a trailer to the third movie.
Talladega Nights: The Ballad Of Ricky Bobby (2006)
With Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby being one of the best Will Ferrell movies thanks to him partnering with John C. Reilly for the first time, some of the funniest moments come when the two characters are trying to sell their sponsor’s products while the credits are rolling.
But as funny as it is watching Ricky and Cal try to sell Big Red chewing gum, it overshadows the real post-credits scene at the very end. Ricky’s sons, Walker and Texas Ranger are responsible for a lot of the movie’s funniest scenes, as they are delinquent, foul-mouthed pranksters, but by the end of the movie, they find Jesus and the final scene sees them hilariously analyzing a William Faulkner novel.
Bridesmaids (2011)
Megan confronting the Air Marshal on the plane is one of the funniest scenes of Bridesmaids but his part in the movie doesn’t end there. At the very end of the movie, both Megan and the Air Marshal can be found in bed together, but they aren’t doing what first springs to mind.
The scene plays out like a sex tape, as it’s self-recorded by Megan, but she instead starts to feed him a “hungry bear sandwich.” Being a part of a movie that is full of absurd moments, this might just be the strangest.
American Gangster (2007)
With most post-credits scenes generally being attached to animated flicks and movies belonging to a franchise, it comes as a surprise when they’re added to serious crime dramas. In American Gangster, the post-credits scene is a very brief scene that lasts for less than a minute.
The shot is completely pointless, as it sees Frank walk up to the camera and shoot it at point black range. However, it looks great, and it seems like the reason it’s there is because there was no room for the shot in the actual movie, so it was tagged on at the end because the shot is too cool not to use.
Planes, Trains, And Automobiles (1987)
Director John Hughes is no stranger to funny post-credits scenes, as his movie Ferris Bueller’s Day Off features one of the most famous post-credits scenes of all time. However, Planes, Trains, and Automobiles has a lesser-known scene that comes to the patient and is just as funny.
The scene sees Neal Page’s boss still deciding between the different magazine covers, which is the very thing that made Neal so late at the beginning of the movie, and it’s what caused him such a troubled trip in the first place.