Superhero movies and post-credits scenes go hand-in-hand these days. We already know that Ant-Man has two and is hasn’t even come out yet, and Avengers: Age of Ultron showed up with only one, though many folks sat through until the final credit rolled just to be safe. But what about Fantastic Four? Don’t expect to see one, at least according to one of the stars.
As with many things of this ilk this week, this story originated at San Diego Comic-Con. Jamie Bell, who plays Ben Grimm, a.k.a. The Thing, in the upcoming Josh Trank-directed Fantastic Four, sat down with MTV, and when the subject came up, he said:
No we don’t have a post-credits scene. It does leave the door wide open for a lot of different movies. I think this movie really focuses on the origins of each character individually – how they get their powers, how they learn to deal with them, how they learn to harness them. That’s kind of where the movie ends. But then there’s so much more to go on from there – it really leaves the door open.
Post-credits scene has become standard practice for comic book movies, and while there are some that are just fun little bits, like the shawarma scene from The Avengers or Baby Groot getting his groove on in Guardians of the Galaxy, they’re also used to tease future installments in a particular fictional world. So, if the movie, as Bell specifies, already sets things up for future installments, such a scene, while fun for fans, might not add anything substantial to the film.
Also, if it’s used to tease more movies, a level of uncertainty about the future could come into play. While there are obviously more Fantastic Four movies planned, if the movie tanks, it could impact the future. And there have also been rumors floating around, all unsubstantiated and very ethereal, of course, about potential crossovers. Marvel has their Cinematic Universe, but with the rights to Fantastic Four, X-Men, and Deadpool, people have speculated that 20th Century Fox could, if they wanted, create a shared universe of their very own. If, and that’s a big, speculative if, this is the case, perhaps they don’t know exactly what direction they’re heading and don’t currently have anything specific to tease.
And if you want to get super conspiracy theorist with us for a minute, if you buy the rumors that X-Men: First Class director Matthew Vaughn was brought in for reshoots in lieu of Josh Trank (rumors that have been roundly denied), perhaps he filmed something that could show up after the credits. That is, obviously, wild, rampant conjecture, with no link to anything even remotely whispered about in the darkest corners of the internet, but it’s an idea I just pulled out of my ass.
The rebooted Fantastic Four starring Miles Teller, Kate Mara, Michael B. Jordan, Jamie Bell, and Toby Kebbell hits theaters everywhere, sans post-credits sequence, on August 7.
