The Marvel Cinematic Universe is one of the most thought-out and convoluted franchises ever to hit the big screen. From crossovers to now a multiverse of content, it seems like every superhero movie is carefully thought through. However, this wasn’t always the case. In fact, it turns out that Marvel’s first post-credit scene was a fluke.
During an interview with Inverse, comic book legend Brian Michael Bendis revealed that the 2008 Marvel movie, Iron Man, had an after-credits scene that was ultimately a last-minute addition. “I got a call from Kevin [Feige], who said, ‘Samuel L. Jackson is showing up tomorrow to do a favour. He’s just showing up, and we’re gonna wing it,’” Bendis explained.
This was before Marvel had launched its interconnected universe – so, needless to say, the pressure was on. “Do you have time to write anything?” Feige reportedly asked, and Bendis replied, “Yeah! Shit!”
In the first Iron Man movie, the mentioned scene saw Samuel L. Jackson as the beloved MCU character Nick Fury for the first time. In the clip, Nick is in Tony Stark’s house, where he introduces himself and sets up the first Avengers movie, which would hit the big screen in 2012.
Fans may remember the infamous line: “You think you’re the only superhero in the world? Mr Stark, you’ve only become part of a bigger universe. You just don’t know it yet.”
The scene made history and literally launched Marvel Phase 1. It is mindboggling to learn that the post-credit moment was made on the fly – but boy, are we glad that it was.
Since 2008 we have seen tons of action movies and Marvel series, with the franchise still going strong as we move into Marvel’s Phase 5. Fans can catch the latest Marvel addition, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 3, in cinemas on May 5, 2023.
For more on the new movie, you can read our Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 3 review and check out our guide on who is who in the Guardians of the Galaxy cast.
Or, if you are after more classics, here are our guides to the best movies of all time and everyone in the Iron Man cast.