Marvel Studios has not been diligent about tying up its post-credits-related loose ends.
17 years in, the Marvel Cinematic Universe has become nothing short of a sprawling epic. And like most sprawling epics, not every story thread or hint for the future is given the full attention that they're due.
8 MCU Post-Credits Scenes That Went Nowhere
To that point, the MCU has accumulated a number of post-credits scenes from its various films and TV shows that have led nowhere. Worsening matters, most of these scenes also stand little chance of being developed further.
Here are eight MCU post-credits scenes that still haven't been elaborated on - and are more likely to be completely forgotten, at least in the short-term:
Doctor Strange - “There Are Too Many Sorcerers.”
After the credits stopped rolling on the original Doctor Strange movie from 2016, Jonathan Pangborn (Benjamin Bratt), the ex-Kamar-Taj apprentice who helped set Dr. Stephen Strange on the path toward his magical destiny, is seen busy in a workshop. He's approached by a hooded figure.
Pangborn quickly realizes that this intruder is a disillusioned Karl Mordo, who confronts the former student and then siphons all the mystical energy from his body. Pangborn's original, grievous injuries return. When he asks Mordo why he's done this, Mordo simply retorts, "There are too many sorcerers."
The implication was that Mordo was on a crusade to rid the world of its magic users, which would ultimately set him on a collision course with Stephen Strange. And although Strange fought a Multiversal Variant of Mordo in the sequel, he has yet to go head-to-head with the version from his Earth over a decade later.
The Falcon and the Winter Soldier - “Start Lining up Our Buyers.”
In the post-credits scene for 2021's Disney+ streaming series The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, viewers witness Sharon Carter receiving a full pardon from the U.S. government for her actions in Captain America: Civil War. In that film, she aided Steve Rogers by returning his shield after it was confiscated by officials.
Picking up with Sharon in Falcon and the Winter Soldier, it was revealed that giving Steve his shield back landed her in some serious hot water. Named an enemy of the state, she faked her own death during the Blip and fled to Madripoor, where she became the dangerous and manipulative Power Broker.
After having her name cleared and her CIA job reinstated, Sharon exited the courthouse and made a phone call in which she promised whoever was on the other line "full access to government secrets." Fans wondered if Sharon was actually a Skrull in disguise, but nothing about this scene has been clarified in the years since.
Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings - "A Message to Where?"
The first of two Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings stingers focused on Shawn and Katy taking a meeting with some key Avengers personnel. Wong mystically examined the Ten Rings while Carol Danvers and Dr. Bruce Banner looked on remotely.
After ruling out some other possibilities, Earth's Mightiest Heroes determined that the rings were a beacon and emitting a signal. Shang-Chi nervously asks where the signal is being sent, but Carol is called away, and the meeting ends.
Rumors suggest that the original intention was to close the loop on this story beat in the fifth Avengers film, which, at that point, was called Avengers: The Kang Dynasty. But after Kang actor Jonathan Majors' 2023 arrest, Marvel pivoted from all Kang-centric plots, potentially leaving the mystery of the Ten Rings in the lurch.
Eternals - “Your Friends Are in Big Trouble. And We Know Where To Find Them.”
Eternals' mid-credits scene caught up with Thena, Druig, and Makkari on board their ship, the Domo. The long-lived trio is suddenly caught off guard by the arrival of Pip the Troll and a fellow Eternal named Eros (pop superstar Harry Styles) by way of teleportation.
Pip introduces Eros as the "brother of Thanos," so, naturally, the others don't seem to trust these intruders. But Eros comes bearing good news: Those other Eternals that Thena and company were searching for? He knows where they are.
Sadly, a sequel to Eternals may never materialize, leaving this tease up in the air. As for seeing Styles' Eros again, all Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige offered is a frustrating "we'll see" (via SuperheroHype). Surely, Marvel would want to capitalize on a popular performer like Styles, though.
Eternals - “Sure You’re Ready for That, Mr. Whitman?”
The second Eternals stinger concerned Dane Whitman, who was seen sporadically throughout the film. Dane stands in his London office, in front of an antique crate. He anxiously opens the box, and there sits the Ebony Blade. As Dane extends his hand toward the ancient sword, an offscreen voice inquires if he's "ready for that."
The voice belonged to none other than Mahershala Ali's Blade. Not only that, but the Ebony Blade is Dane's birthright, capable of bestowing upon him the powers of the superhero known as Black Knight (a longtime Avenger in the comics).
Marvel Studios' Blade film has remained in development for over five years, with no hope of rescue anytime soon. It was assumed that Dane and the Ebony Blade would be included in Blade, but the movie has gone through so many rewrites that, even if it does get made, Whitman may no longer be a player in it.
Moon Knight - “Meet My Friend, Jake Lockley.”
The Moon Knight series is yet another MCU project to fall victim to Unresolved Post-Credits Scene Syndrome. Arthur Harrow (Ethan Hawke) is wheeled out of the psychiatric hospital where he was being held (thanks to his collusion with the ancient Egyptian soul-eater, Ammit) and into a limousine.
Inside the limo, Harrow comes face-to-beak with Khonshu, for whom he was once an avatar. Khonshi ominously states that Marc Spector is even more "troubled" than he realizes. The window then rolls down, revealing Jake Lockley, Marc's yet-unseen and most violent alter, who shoots Harrow.
Fans were waiting for Lockley's emergence over Moon Knight's six episodes, but Marvel kept him under wraps until the last second. Marvel exec Brad Winderbaum shot down immediate plans for Moon Knight Season 2 but also explained that "there are plans" for the character going forward, leaving a glimmer of hope.
Thor: Love and Thunder - “They Will Fear Us Again When Thor Odinson Falls From the Sky.”
Thor: Love and Thunder's mid-credits scene opens with Zeus tending to his wounds (caused by a lightning bolt to the chest), surrounded by handmaidens. He laments that gods just don't have the cachet that they used to, complaining that their reputation has been usurped by superheroes.
Zeus decides it's time to reclaim his notoriety and starts by ordering a hit on the God of Thunder himself. He orders his son Hercules (Ted Lasso's Brett Goldstein) to hunt Thor down and end him.
A clash between Thor and Hercules would be one for the ages, and while a fifth Thor movie is rumored, it isn't set in stone. And so, Love and Thunder adds another likely-forgotten story thread to the pile.
Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania - “They’re Beginning To Touch the Multiverse.”
Last up is Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania's mid-credits sequence, where Kang Variants travel from across all of time and space to gather in an arena. Their leaders, three powerful Kangs known as Immortus, Scarlet Centurion, and Rama-Tut, preside over hordes of their excited brethren.
The Council of Kangs discusses the death of "the exiled one" (the main Kang seen in Quantumania) before Immortus warns them that others from outside their ranks are starting to discover the Multiverse. This poses a great danger to their power.
However, as mentioned above, Marvel Studios fired Jonathan Majors (who played every Kang) in 2023 over his assault charges. As a result, the studio likely has no further plans for Kang unless the character is recast.
Credit to X user @the_Bradster007 for his post-credits scene list.
Is There Still Hope for These MCU Plot Threads?
The Marvel Cinematic Universe is continually expanding. The House of Ideas has several new projects (movies, television shows, special presentations, and cartoons) in the works.
Many of these MCU installments will present opportunities to resolve some of the long-standing cliffhangers and teases that were presented in post-credits scenes. Whether Marvel will seize these opportunities is a much different story, however.
Multiple MCU characters will coalesce in the new Avengers films, due out in 2026 and 2027. These films offer fertile ground to at least partially fill in some of the more outstanding post-credits gaps. But as always with upcoming MCU offerings, this remains to be seen.
