The 10 Best Non-Marvel Post-Credits Scenes, Ranked
First appearing in the James Bond spoof "The Silencers" in 1966, the post-credits scene has become one of the most delightful parts of going to the movies. For the most part, post-credits scenes are traditionally used to set up future sequels or offer one last joke (or scare) to the audience, but there are, of course, exceptions to the rule.
Everything changed with the practice of post-credits scenes, however, when Nick Fury showed up at the end of "Iron Man" to discuss a little project with Tony Stark called "The Avengers Initiative." Since then, it seems like every major release has included a post-credits sequence either because they want to, or because audiences have become accustomed to expecting them. Hell, we write a lot of "Does ____ Have a Post-Credits Scene?" posts here on /Film because it's what the people demand of us!
There are hundreds of great post-credits sequences out there, but for the sake of argument, I've narrowed it down to 10 that truly stand out in their execution, or because of the context in which they arrived. And since Marvel post-credits scenes constitute their own list, Marvel Cinematic Universe movies will not be eligible for this one.
10. The Disaster Artist
Tommy Wiseau is one of the most fascinating figures in film, which made Greg Sestero and Tom Bissell's book "The Disaster Artist" a perfect subject for a film adaptation.
The movie covers the making of Wiseau's unintentional midnight cult film "The Room," in which the peculiar filmmaker makes baffling directorial decisions, spends way, way too much money, and mostly just weirds out everyone he meets. Despite it all, people are weirdly entranced by his passion to get his movie made, and regardless of how odd this guy is, you can't help but cheer for "The Room" and the success that followed. James and Dave Franco play Tommy Wiseau and Greg Sestero respectively, and the credits include side-by-side reenactments of moments of "The Room" using the actors of "The Disaster Artist."
It's clear that they were not out to make a movie mocking Wiseau, but instead honoring his hard work and unintentional cult status. In the post-credits scene, Franco's version of Tommy meets a party-goer named Henry who invites him to hang out. Tommy declines, but compliments Henry on having a similar "New Orleans" accent. Henry is played, of course, by the real Tommy Wiseau. The face-off of the Tommys is truly delightful to see, even if supporting a movie starring James Franco has gotten ... complicated, to say the least.
9. Ghost World
Hey kids, you wanna watch Steve Buscemi fight a dude with a mullet in the middle of a gas station minimart? Comedian Dave Sheridan ("Scary Movie," "Buzzkill," "Sex Drive") appears in the cult classic "Ghost World," as an often-shirtless all-American a-hole named Doug, who hangs around the mini-mart where Josh (Brad Renfro) works.
He looks like something out of "Napoleon Dynamite," which only makes it funnier when the post-credits alternate scene of him getting in a fight with Buscemi's Seymour starts to play. After trying to choke Seymour out with his trademark nunchucks, Seymour fights back and humbles this scumbag, complete with cartoonish sound effects. At one point, Doug seemingly jumps from the floor and into the air off of a kick, selling the injury in a way that would make Stone Cold Steve Austin proud. It's only 30 seconds long, but it'll have you begging for a Steve Buscemi action comedy akin to the Bob Odenkirk-led "Nobody."
8. A Knight's Tale
When it first arrived, critics didn't know what to make of "A Knight's Tale," Brian Helgeland's underdog sports movie set in the medieval era. But two decades later, the film still has a rabid audience of fans and has become a seminal sleepover classic for a generation of teen girls. The film is essentially every '90s sports movie you've ever seen, but swap out the motley crew of baseball or hockey-playing preteens for Heath Ledger, Mark Addy, Alan Tudyk, Laura Fraser, Shannyn Sossaman, and a sometimes-naked Paul Bettany, and you've got it figured out. The anachronistic hero's journey about the son of a peasant moonlighting as a knight in order to compete in jousting tournament plays around with conventions of period-piece cinema, and includes the most flatulent post-credits scene on this list.
Our lovable gang has spent an entire film trying to pretend they are more than just the children of peasants, and with Ledger's Sir William off doing royal whatever-the-heck with Sossamon's noble Jocelyn, the common folk are left to their own devices, which includes a farting contest. It sounds juvenile, I know, but seeing the remaining four enjoy a pint and laugh about farts is hilarious and appropriate to the period. Fart jokes are some of the earliest forms of comedy on record, and by including this scene, "A Knight's Tale" is oddly paying homage to the peasants that history often forgets.
7. Sonic the Hedgehog
I am an unashamed lover of all things Miles "Tails" Prower, so I am fully admitting my bias by including the post-credits scene of "Sonic the Hedgehog." After Dr. Robotnik has been banished to the mushroom planet, the scene opens with an "Apocalypse Now" parody as the fully transformed "Dr. Eggman" begins to plot out his revenge. Admittedly, I was sad. I loved the movie and loved the hint that there'd be a sequel, but was disappointed not to see my two-tailed bestie. Fortunately, the team of Jeff Fowler, Pat Casey, and Josh Miller had my back, because shortly after, the winds of Green Hills, Montana began to blow, and BOOM! MY BABY BOY ARRIVED LOOKING FOR SONIC! Did I fully start sobbing in a crowded theater where my wife and I were the oldest attendees that weren't also parents of the majority of the crowd? Yes. Yes, I did. Did I high five a six-year-old girl sitting next to me who was also losing her s*** about it? ALSO YES. This is one of the best examples of a film setting up the stakes for the sequel, and had audiences waiting with anticipation for the next film.
6. Step Brothers
John C. Reilly uses a merry-go-round to punch kids in the face around a circle and Will Ferrell uses a kid on a spring horse's face as a speedbag. On paper, that sounds like a horrible TMZ headline, but in the post-credits scene of "Step Brothers," it's comedy gold. Earlier in the film, full-grown adult step-brothers Dale and Brennan (Reilly and Ferrell) cross paths with some junior high-aged hooligans at a playground, who beat them up and make them lick dried out dog poop. It's a one-off scene filled with plenty of great physical comedy, which only makes it funnier when the duo return at the end of the film to enact their revenge in a John Woo-inspired fight scene. Obviously the two aren't beating the snot out of actual kids, but the visible shift to adult stunt performers only makes the moment funnier. Will Ferrell uses a swing set to kick down a group of kids, and of course, they give their biggest bully a taste of his own medicine with dog poop. It perfectly encapsulates the absolute absurdity of the movie, and reminds us that no matter how much they've changed, these two still haven't grown up.
5. Ferris Bueller's Day Off
The entire ending sequence of "Ferris Bueller's Day Off" is a masterclass, featuring a scene of Mr. Rooney (Jeffrey Jones) as he makes his way back to school after having been bested by Ferris Bueller (Matthew Broderick). Set to the always awesome "Oh Yeah" by Yello, the film spends nearly four minutes reveling in Rooney's pain. Alas, that is not the post-credits sequence. Instead, once the credits finally cut to black, we return to Ferris Bueller in his bathroom, again breaking the fourth wall and telling everyone to leave the theater. "Ferris Bueller's Day Off" is certainly not the first film to have this happen, but the popularity of the film made this moment an instant classic. Marvel's "Deadpool" even parodied the moment, having the titular character show up in Ferris' same bathrobe to shoo the audience out. With Ferris spending a good chunk of the film talking directly to the audience, it's the perfect end cap to his greatest adventure yet.
(For what it's worth, the best version of this type of ending belongs to Animal in "The Muppets Movie," who shows up and yells "GO HOME!" However, Kevin Feige has gone on record to say that "Ferris Bueller" is why the Marvel movies have post-credits scenes, so I gotta give the point to Ferris.)
4. Buffy the Vampire Slayer
Paul Reubens is known by most for his iconic performance as Pee-wee Herman, but he'll always be Amilyn the Vampire to me. In the criminally underrated "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" movie, Reubens dons a wild wig, delivers dynamite one-liners, and feels like the Godfather of the type of hilarious vampires we'd see in projects like "What We Do in The Shadows." During the massive showdown at the dance between Buffy (Kristy Swanson) and the vampire brood headed by Rutger Hauer's Lothos, Buffy stakes Amilyn in the heart, but he's not going down without a fight. Amilyn starts reeling back and forth, delivering dramatic "eee, ahhhh, oooh, aaah, eee" sounds of pain back and forth, sometimes pausing to see if anyone is watching him suffer. His death goes on for what feels like an eternity, before the film cuts away to other action. However, the post-credits scene returns on Amilyn, as he continues writhing and whining until finally succumbing to the stake and falling to the ground. Dying never looked so hilarious.
3. Planes, Trains and Automobiles
"Planes, Trains and Automobiles" is arguably John Hughes' finest film, but it is definitely home to his best post-credits sequence. Neal Page (Steve Martin) endures the trip from hell in an attempt to make it home to Chicago for Thanksgiving, having to deal with diverted flights, burglars, exploding cars, and a garrulous (albeit well-meaning) shower ring salesman named Del Griffith (John Candy). Page's struggles begin when a meeting with the vacillate Mr. Bryant (William Windom) runs late and throws everything off schedule. In the post-credits scene, we revisit Mr. Bryant as he continues examining Neil Page's ad layout that was presented in the meeting over his Thanksgiving dinner, unaware of the absolute nightmare he caused with his indecisiveness at the start. Although Page will never know this is what became of Mr. Bryant, it feels like the film is giving him one last middle finger (with love), even after Neal has finally made it home.
2. ParaNorman
Normally a post-credits scene is, well, a scene, but Laika Studios did something really remarkable at the end of "ParaNorman." We don't have to tell you that animation is often under-appreciated by the masses, and few understand just how much hard work goes into making an animated feature. Laika takes that one further, and crafts absolutely stunning stop-motion animation features. After the credits of "ParaNorman," a time-lapse video plays, showing an animator putting together one of the models of Norman Babcock and giving the audience an idea of just how much work it takes to make one character. It's almost breathtaking to see how much detail goes into crafting the character, and the scope becomes overwhelming when you realize that all of that hard work went in for every single character, every single movement, every single change of a facial expression or environmental change, in every single frame. It may not be a cute little zinger or a set-up for a potential sequel, but it's a moment to acknowledge and draw attention to the hard-working animators who made the movie possible.
1. Airplane!
/Film reader, listen, and you listen close: Choosing the best Non-Marvel post-credits scene is no different than riding a bicycle, just a lot harder to put baseball cards in the spokes. "Airplane!" continues to be one of the greatest comedy films ever made, even if some of the jokes have aged, uh, less than great. The film is a non-stop barrage of one-liners, puns, deadpan humor, sight gags, physical comedy, and long-running bits, so it's no surprise that its post-credits scene would be equally as hilarious. The scene offers closure to a long-forgotten taxicab passenger who was ditched at the beginning of the movie. The film returns to the man, still waiting for his cabbie, who says that he'll wait for him for another 20 minutes, "BUT THAT'S IT!" It's hilarious because, of course, it implies that he spent the entire duration of the film waiting for this cab, but started the continued trend of comedy films revisiting seemingly throwaway moments for one last laugh before the audience leaves the theater.