The post-Endgame MCU has been planting more seeds than Thanos on his farm, but we’ve yet to see the fruits of that post-credits labour.
Marvel has a long-established tradition of setting up and paying off years later, but the sheer volume of new characters introduced means that many story threads are now dangling. With the recent box office performance for Ant Man and the Wasp: Quantumania and even the likes of Thor: Love and Thunder and Black Panther: Wakanda Forever understandably failing to match their predecessors, we may never see these stories resolved.
It wouldn’t be the first time, remember the Scorpion and Vulture confrontation that has been long since memory-holed by the MCU powers that be?
Regardless, there is a lot to be hyped for in future big screen adventures, but which post-credits is the most exciting?
8). Spider-Man: No Way Home
Spider-Man’s third MCU solo outing is arguably one of the best, if not the best, of the post-Endgame crop, but the post-credits tease felt more like a Sony-Marvel contractual requirement.
Tom Hardy’s Eddie Brock is enjoying a drink a beach bar and receiving an Earth 616 history lesson when he decides to pay Spider-Man a visit. At that very moment, he’s transferred back to his world by Doctor Strange, but not before leaving a symbiote offshoot behind to presumably wreak havoc on Tom Holland’s webslinger.
Venom has a less than storied history on-screen, with a much-maligned role in Sam Rami’s Spider-Man 3 and two critical duds but crucially commercial successes with the Hardy series. Fiege carefully avoids having those films pollute the MCU stream, but the promise of Holland donning a black suit feels like an already well-trodden creative path.
7). Doctor Strange: Multiverse of Madness
The Doctor Strange sequel delivered on neither the multiverse nor the madness (aside from an ill-fitting cameo fest and some Sam Rami trademark flourish), but the mid-credits scene suggests a madder foray into the mystical realm is to come.
With a cast as sprawling and stacked as the MCU, Charlize Theron joining the ranks is as sorceress Clea is still an exciting prospect. Clea has a storied comic book past as a onetime wife of Stephen and holder of the Doctor Strange mantle. She recruiters Doctor Strange to repair an incursion in the Dark Dimension, a quest we’ll likely see Cumberbatch and Theron undertake in either The Kang Dynasty or Secret Wars.
It’s a pity then this scene doesn’t land as hard as it should as it immediately undercuts the excellent ending reveal of Stephen Strange’s Darkhold-induced third eye. In this instance, less would have been more.
6). Ant Man and the Wasp: Quantumania
Ant Man’s threequel belonged to Kang, so much so that both credits are dedicated to setting up future conquering. The most interesting of which plays first, as we witness a council of variants discuss the death of the exiled Kang, prompting the Immortus version to put a stop to the Avengers interference, before they ‘kill everything we’ve built.’
This is followed by Tom Hiddleston’s reformed trickster and Owen Wilson’s ex-TVA agent Mobius watching a turn of the 20th century performance from a showman Kang variant who declares that time can be altered, laying the ground for Loki’s second season.
Despite an uncertainty about Jonathan Major’s future in the role, Kang is set to dominate the MCU’s fifth phase. The council and colosseum of Kangs may have been step too soon, but Marvel should get credit for taking a different approach to their next big bad. Thanos was slowly drawn out but creating relationships between heroes and Kangs early will make for an interesting dynamic come Avengers five. It’s just a shame that Ant Man and co.’s future stories remain a mystery.
5). Thor: Love & Thunder
Thor has been reinvented more than once in the MCU, from the fish-out-of-water prince of Asgard in his first two solo films, to the comedic crusader in the Taika Waititi helmed instalments, and to the sombre iteration in the Russo brothers Avengers duo.
The credits end with the declaration of more Thor adventures but Chris Hemsworth has been vocal about requiring another creative refresh to continue. Hopefully then Ted Lasso scene stealer Brett Goldstein debuting as Hercules, in his first major motion picture role, can provide the goods. The mighty warrior is dispatched by father Zeus (Russel Crowe, with ridiculous skirt and accent) for retribution against the God of Thunder.
Whilst those performances and actors suggest things may proceed in the Waititi vein, this could be the perfect blending of the early film’s high fantasy adventures and the latter movie’s zany tone.
4). Eternals
A pandemic release ensured that the immortal Eternals took a rather lifeless $402 million at the global box office, jeopardising a direct sequel. Absent from Fiege’s MCU slate presentations, it’s now a matter of if, rather than when, these characters show up again.
One guaranteed returner appears to be Kit Harrington’s Dane Whitman, who is very likely to become his comics alter ego Black Knight in the upcoming Blade. In the post credits scene, Sersi’s love interest is asked by an off-screen voice belonging to Mahershala Ali if he’s ready to handle the Ebony Blade.
It’s less assured that we’ll see Harry Styles’ Eros and the Patton Oswald-voiced Pip the Troll assist Druig, Makkari and Thena in saving their teammates from the almighty celestial Arishem. With the Guardians exiting the space opera Marvel stage, it’s a shame Eternals didn’t connect with audiences to take over that lane. Let’s hope they can have rehabilitating roles in The Kang Dynasty that might lead to more headline outings in the future.
3). Shang Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings
Even if Shang-Chi performed in a similar box office range as Eternals, Marvel seems to be hot on the ring-wielding warrior, by handing director Daniel Destin Cretton the coveted gig on Kang Dynasty and putting a sequel to Shang Chi into development.
It’s here that we’re likely to see what signal exactly the powerful rings were sending and more importantly, to who? Shang Chi is almost certain to be an Avenger, and he’s one of the few new characters to meet more than one, as Wong, Bruce Banner and Carol Danvers puzzle the origins of the rings.
Equally interesting is the prospect of seeing Xu Xialing lead the Ten Rings. The criminal organisation has been lurking in the shadows of the MCU since phase one, but it will be intriguing to see what reforms Shang’s sister takes, aside from the female assassins glimpsed in the post-credits.
2). Guardians of the Galaxy Volume 3
James Gunn’s threequel brilliantly wraps up his Guardians story, but also scatters the roster for potential galaxy-saving down the road.
Returning for further MCU appearances is the bankable Chris Pratt, who here is given an intimate, domestic coda with his grandfather moaning about the neighbours as Star Lord enjoys a bowl of sugary cereal. It’s an oddly beautiful moment, perfectly capping a trilogy about family and particularly bad father figures. It also gives a new writer a clean slate as to where to take the ‘Legendary’ Star Lord next.
Before that though, we see Rocket Racoon, a colossal Groot, and the new Guardians team spring into action. The dynamic between Kraglin, Cosmo, Adam Warlock, Phyla-Vell and the two founding members is rife for exploration in future films or even a Mandalorian-style, planet-hopping adventure-of-the-week series.
1). Black Panther: Wakanda Forever
This ending to Wakanda Forever gives Guardians Volume 3 a run in the tear-jerking stakes. Shuri, the freshly minted protector of Wakanda, visits Nakia in Haiti and is introduced to her son, T’Challa, named after the former King and Black Panther.
It’s a stunning, full circle moment for a story that begins with honouring the loss of Chadwick Boseman before the battle with Namor and the Talocans. T’Challa’s mantle lives on through Shuri, now his name and legacy lives on through his son. It’s also a gorgeously shot scene, aptly taking place by the sea, and infusing the Black Panther spirituality into a tender, human moment.
It also asks interesting questions about what role the young T’Challa will have in the MCU going forward. Will he return with his Aunt to his homeland? Will he one day inherit the Panther powers for himself? Will Shuri mentor him and built the bond she held deeply with her brother?