The Fantastic Four: First Steps' mid-credits scene introduces Robert Downey Jr.'s Doctor Doom, and while the second stinger is a little less impactful, it does reveal what many of Earth 828's classic villains look like.
Red Ghost, Diablo, The Mad Thinker, and more are all referenced during The Fantastic Four: First Steps, but never seen. John Malkovich was set to play Red Ghost in the movie's original opening, but ended up on the cutting room floor alongside all but one of his Super Apes.
The reboot's post-credits scene can now be watched in its entirety. While this was once set to be part of the movie's opening montage, it was ultimately saved as a fun surprise for fans at the end of the movie.
Polygon recently spoke to Titmouse animation director Simón Wilches, who spearheaded the creation of this animated sequence for Marvel Studios. The key thing for his team was making the animation look suitably retro and 1960s-inspired.
"The first pass on everything was so extremely [slickly] done. And I was like, 'No, guys, we need to go back and try to imagine ourselves in that time, with those limitations,'" he recalled. "We have the best, most modern tools, but we need to use them in the way those people would've used their tools at the time.' So no shortcuts, everything has to be hand-painted. Doing less sometimes gives a better result."
"We wanted something new, but old-new. We wanted to feel nostalgic, but a little bit more modern, to fit the movie," Wilches added. He noted that filmmaker Matt Shakman tonally, "was very specific — but emotionally specific, just 'This needs to feel right.' I shared that with him. As long as it feels like it’s from the right era, it doesn't really matter what specific images are chosen."
You can hear more from Wilches by following the link above. In the meantime, watch The Fantastic Four: First Steps' post-credits scene below.
In our review of The Fantastic Four: First Steps, we concluded, "The Fantastic Four is an exceptional introduction to the MCU’s First Family, and thanks to a Jack Kirby-infused feel that’s unlike anything we’ve seen before, it proves to be a quintessential superhero movie with Marvel Studios at its brilliant best.
Set against the vibrant backdrop of a 1960s-inspired, retro-futuristic world, Marvel Studios' The Fantastic Four: First Steps introduces Marvel’s First Family—Reed Richards/Mister Fantastic (Pedro Pascal), Sue Storm/Invisible Woman (Vanessa Kirby), Johnny Storm/Human Torch (Joseph Quinn) and Ben Grimm/The Thing (Ebon Moss-Bachrach) as they face their most daunting challenge yet.
Forced to balance their roles as heroes with the strength of their family bond, they must defend Earth from a ravenous space god called Galactus (Ralph Ineson) and his enigmatic Herald, Silver Surfer (Julia Garner). And if Galactus’ plan to devour the entire planet and everyone on it weren’t bad enough, it suddenly gets very personal.
Also appearing are Natasha Lyonne as Rachel Rozman, Paul Walter Hauser as Harvey Elder/Mole Man, Sarah Niles as Lynne Nichols, and Mark Gatiss as Ted Gilbert. John Malkovich was set to play Red Ghost, but was cut due to time constraints.
The Fantastic Four: First Steps is directed by Matt Shakman from a screenplay by Josh Friedman and Eric Pearson and Jeff Kaplan & Ian Springer.
The movie is now available on Digital platforms, while its 4K Ultra HD, Blu-ray, and DVD release is set to follow on October 14.