Warning: MAJOR SPOILERS for Spider-Man: Far From Home ahead.
Marvel Studios and Sony Pictures' Spider-Man: Far From Home has two post-credits scenes; we break down what they mean for the future of Spider-Man and the whole Marvel Cinematic Universe. The latest MCU movie has the tough task of both following the superhero epic that is Avengers: Endgame and closing out Marvel Studios' Phase 3. Endgame and Far From Home mark the end of an era, concluding the Infinity Saga, with the MCU's Phase 4 expected to kick off next year. As such, Far From Home must offer a compelling conclusion, but it must also set the stage for what's to come.
For the most part, Spider-Man: Far From Home is focused on the story of Spider-Man after the events of Endgame and continuing his arc from his first solo movie, 2017's Spider-Man: Homecoming. The film sees Peter Parker (Tom Holland) go on a summer vacation to Europe with his classmates - including best friend Ned (Jacob Batalon) and the girl he likes, MJ (Zendaya). However, their trip is interrupted by Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) recruiting Spider-Man to fight the Elementals alongside Quentin Beck aka. Mysterio (Jake Gyllenhaal). Much of the movie features Peter, and others in the world, dealing with the void left by the death of Tony Stark aka. Iron Man, but the end of Spider-Man: Far From Home starts to set up the future of the MCU.
Both of the Spider-Man: Far From Home post-credits scenes work to set up future movies in the MCU, particularly Marvel Studios and Sony Pictures' Spider-Man 3 as well as other potential Phase 4 films. Now that the latest MCU installment is out in theaters, we explain what happens in the Spider-Man: Far From Home post-credits scenes, and what they mean for future movies. So one last time: SPOILERS ahead for Spider-Man: Far From Home.
The Daily Bugle Exists (But Is InfoWars)
One aspect of the Spider-Man mythology that's been missing from the MCU thus far is The Daily Bugle, the New York City tabloid newspaper in the vein of NY Daily News and NY Post for which Peter Parker works as a photographer. The Daily Bugle played a key role in Sam Raimi's Spider-Man trilogy in the early 2000s, but was completely absent from Marc Webb's The Amazing Spider-Man films. Now, though it hadn't been introduced prior, Spider-Man: Far From Home confirms The Daily Bugle exists in the MCU - but it looks much different than what comic fans might expect.
Given the changing world of media thanks to the rise of technology, The Daily Bugle doesn't exist in the MCU as a tabloid newspaper. Instead it's The Daily Bugle.net, a "controversial" InfoWars style conspiracy theory/fake news website. (InfoWars is also politically alt-right, but it's unclear of the MCU's Daily Bugle.Net is similarly leaning.) It's clear from the Far From Home mid-credits scene, though, that mainstream media doesn't take Bugle.net seriously at the time of the movie. But the site's exclusive scoop is too big for the media to ignore, and they ultimately report on the information Bugle.net presents.
As we've seen in the current political climate and attitudes toward news media, with the rise of the term "fake news" and growing distrust in mainstream media, Bugle.net represents an alternative site that gains mainstream attention through a big story. However, it's unclear how much the public in the MCU - particularly New York City - will trust Bugle.net's reporting. It's reasonable to think that many folks will believe Bugle.net, but it's also likely not everyone will. Perhaps, because the world of the MCU has seen aliens invade Earth and events like the Blip occur, they're more likely to believe a wild report about Spider-Man's identity and intentions.
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Still, it seems more likely the MCU is paving the way for New Yorkers to rally around their young superhero in a way we haven't seen from the Marvel Studios Spider-Man movies yet. Both Raimi's Spider-Man and Webb's The Amazing Spider-Man featured key scenes where New Yorkers helped Spider-Man win the day. However, aside from a few local folks in Queens, we haven't seen much about how New Yorkers in the MCU feel about the wall-crawling superhero. This post-credits scene directly sets that up, though, and hopefully we'll get to see how not only New York City, but the world responds to Bugle.net's story.
The MCU’s J. Jonah Jameson Is Played By J.K. Simmons
Perhaps the biggest bombshell of Spider-Man: Far From Home's post-credits scenes is the reveal that J.K. Simmons plays the MCU's J. Jonah Jameson. The actor, of course, played J. Jonah Jameson in Raimi's Spider-Man movies and is considered the definitive performance of the Marvel Comics character. Although fans have suggested new actors who could play the newspaper editor-in-chief in the MCU, it appears Marvel Studios believes Simmons is still the right actor for the job.
However, it doesn't appear this version of Jameson is the same character who appeared in Raimi's movies. Instead, this Jameson is an InfoWars-style political pundit and "journalist" who reports on a conspiracy theory about Spider-Man's true identity. Certainly, because he's played by Simmons, the MCU's Jameson maintains many of the same hallmarks of the character, but he's running an alternative news website - the .net distinction is a clear style choice by Marvel Studios to make Jameson seem less credible. It's unclear as of yet how big of a role Simmons' new Jameson and Bugle.net will have in future Spider-Man movies. This could just be an Easter egg and Bugle.net could fade into obscurity in the MCU, or Jameson's Spider-Man report could propel his website to more mainstream status, meaning it'll have a major role going forward. We'll have to wait and see what Marvel has planned. For now, fans are no doubt excited to see Simmons reprise the role of J. Jonah Jameson (at least) one more time.
Mysterio Reveals That Spider-Man Is Peter Parker
The crux of J. Jonah Jameson and Bugle.net's report is twofold. First, there's a video from Mysterio that "reveals" Spider-Man attacked him (insinuating Spider-Man killed him) and was behind the Elemental/drone attack on London - however, we know none of this is true. It's simply one more illusion and a final trick on Spider-Man after Mysterio died in London. The second part of the report, though, reveals Spider-Man's secret identity is that of high school student Peter Parker, which we know is true. Since we don't see how anyone other than Peter responds to this report, there are quite a few directions in which Marvel Studios could take this story thread.
Clearly, Spider-Man's secret identity and role as a superhero will be key to Marvel Studios' Spider-Man 3, but because we don't know whether folks in the MCU have the same distrust of mainstream news media, it's unclear if anyone will even believe the Bugle.net report. It may be difficult for people to believe he killed Mysterio/attacked London despite video evidence, which may cause them to doubt the rest of it. However, if folks do believe that Peter is Spider-Man, then they may be more inclined to believe the rest. It's tricky to predict because the scene doesn't give any sign of whether the public believes the report or not - and we know only half of it is true.
Aside from whether or not the public believes Bugle.net, what remains to be seen is how Peter Parker responds to the news. Does he deny it? Does he admit he's Spider-Man but attempt to disprove the other part of the report? Considering his desire to maintain his secret identity in Far From Home, it seems unlikely Peter would admit it to the world. However, he also did eventually tell MJ the truth, so perhaps he's tired of living a lie. Spider-Man has, of course, been unmasked in the Marvel Comics, and he was one of the last heroes in the MCU movies to maintain a secret identity. Now it seems likely he'll join the rest of the Avengers as an unmasked superhero, which will no doubt affect how he goes about his superheroics. But how exactly the MCU reacts to Spider-Man being unmasked, and how Peter Parker moves forward, remains to be seen.
Talos Was Nick Fury Throughout Far From Home
The second Spider-Man: Far From Home post-credits scene focuses more Nick Fury and Maria Hill (Cobie Smulders) - except, of course, it reveals that Fury and Hill in Far From Home weren't actually themselves. Instead, it's revealed that Talos (Ben Mendelsohn), the Skrull shapeshifter introduced in Captain Marvel, was posing as Fury the whole time, while his wife Soren (Sharon Blynn) was posing as Hill. This reveal in the post-credits scene explains a few peculiarities throughout Far From Home, including Fury's reaction to Spider-Man saying Captain Marvel's name and Fury discussing "Kree sleeper cells" with Hill.
However, the larger implications are perhaps more interesting. For instance, it's unclear how many times Fury and Talos have switched places since the 90s, and whether Talos was actually posing as Fury in any other MCU movies. Further, this confirms Talos and Fury have stayed in touch since the events of Captain Marvel and have been working together, though it's unclear what exactly they've been working on (more on that later) aside from monitoring the threat of the Kree. Ultimately, this post-credits scene confirms what many fans have speculated - that Skrulls could be posing as MCU characters and viewers wouldn't even know it. It sets the stage for future Skrull reveals, though, hopefully Marvel doesn't use that too much or it might cheapen the effect. More importantly, it further sets up a Secret Invasion in the MCU.
Nick Fury Is In Space Working With The Skrulls
While Talos was posing as Fury on Earth, the real Fury was in space working with the Skrulls on something. When first we see Fury, it looks like he's lounging on a beach, only for the camera to pull back and reveal he's actually lounging in a room on a spaceship. When he leaves the room, he yells to no one in particular to get back to work. By all appearances, he seems to be on vacation, but the ship itself appears to have a more serious purpose. Perhaps the ship is where the Skrulls made a home after the end of Captain Marvel, and given Talos' comment earlier in Far From Home, they're still fighting the Kree.
Still, the scene proves that since going to space in the 90s, Fury has maintained a relationship with the Skrulls and has monitored extraterrestrial threats. It's unclear if Fury has taken regular trips to space in the years between Captain Marvel and Far From Home, but it's not out of the realm of possibility, especially after S.H.I.E.L.D. fell in Captain America: The Winter Soldier and Fury went off the radar. What exactly he's doing in space, aside from taking a vacation, though, remains to be seen. However, this particular scene does set up a Marvel Comics connection fans have wanted for years.
SWORD Exists In The MCU?
Marvel Comics fans may have an idea of what Fury's doing on a spaceship - and it could have something to do with S.W.O.R.D. (Sentient World Observation and Response Department). To be clear, the Spider-Man: Far From Home post-credits scene does not mention S.W.O.R.D. by name, but since Fury is working on a spaceship and presumably monitoring extraterrestrial threats, it's not a huge leap to connect to S.W.O.R.D. In the comics, the organization is akin to S.H.I.E.L.D., but focuses on extraterrestrial rather than terrestrial threats. Since the Kree count as an extraterrestrial threat, then perhaps Fury has unofficially created S.W.O.R.D. in the years since Captain Marvel by working with her and the Skrulls to protect Earth. Whether or not the spaceship Fury is on is S.W.O.R.D. remains to be seen - but it certainly paves the way for S.W.O.R.D. in the MCU.
Ultimately, both the Spider-Man: Far From Home post-credits scenes have major implications for the MCU going forward, which will no doubt be explored in Phase 4. In terms of what movies will release during Phase 4, though, fans will have to wait and see what Marvel Studios officially announces after Spider-Man: Far From Home.
