Ever since Nick Fury told Tony Stark about the “Avengers Initiative,” fans have come to expect every new post-credits scene with feverish anticipation. But, after so many years, that only means it’s now more surprising when there isn’t anything in the credits.
In Werewolf by Night, Marvel’s new Disney+ special, the Marvel Cinematic Universe dips into the tropes and cinematic aesthetics of retro monster horror most prevalent in Hollywood’s Golden Age. It’s one of the coolest things Marvel has ever made, and it is sure to get MCU fans talking long after Halloween season comes to a close.
But Werewolf by Night, directed by veteran film composer Michael Giacchino, makes one bold choice for the MCU: It doesn’t have a post-credits scene.
That’s right. When the credits finish rolling, fans aren’t greeted to a teaser for the next monstrous being to walk into the MCU, nor is there a cameo from an Avenger. There isn’t even a lighthearted gag to take the edge off. In an authentically old-school way, Werewolf by Night simply ends.
In an interview with Inverse, Giacchino has an honest take on why Werewolf by Night lacks a post-credits scene. For the director, he feels the special successfully tells the story — and nothing more is needed.
“It just felt like, we told our story. We're good,” Giacchino tells Inverse.
Giacchino acknowledges how much fun post-credits scenes can be, given how often they function as a glimpse into the future of the MCU. However, the director believes that Werewolf by Night need not glimpse into anything. While the special is set in MCU canon, Giacchino thinks the story is strong enough to stand by itself as a spooky creature feature; there doesn’t have to be a cameo to add anything fun.
“I know those things are fun. I love those things. But I also felt like we don't have to do them all the time,” Giacchino says. “I don't want to distract from the story we told. These characters are so important to me. I was like, ‘Let's just end with our characters.’ Let's just end with the idea of what's next.”
This isn’t the first time Marvel has made something without a post-credits tag. Multiple episodes of Marvel’s expanding library of Disney+ shows lack a post-credits scene, often in the front half of the series. (The new She-Hulk: Attorney At Law has made the bold choice to have post-credits scenes in the first four episodes, with none of them totally consequential.)
While it’s compelling to speculate how characters like Werewolf by Night (played by Gael García Bernal) and monster hunter Elsa Bloodstone (Laura Donnelly) may one day team up with the rest of the Marvel Cinematic Universe — and Werewolf by Night actually will, in an upcoming Avengers ride at Disney World — it’s a respectable choice for Giacchino to ditch saddling his project with a post-credits scene. Sure, it would have been neat to see Thor or Shang-Chi confront a werewolf. But there’s a little movie called Avengers: Secret Wars where that may happen. For now, Werewolf by Night needs to be where the heroes aren’t.
Werewolf by Night is streaming now on Disney+.
