Editor’s Note: This article contains spoilers for Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse
If you’re one of the people that stayed inside the movie theater until the very last second of Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse, you’re bound to have felt a little disappointed to realize there were no post-credits scenes for this one, even though Marvel and Sony have made a point of including those in practically every superhero movie over the last decade or so. In an interview with Collider, the blockbuster’s co-directors Joaquim dos Santos and Kemp Powers revealed why they decided to hold off on this one.
During the interview, Powers and Dos Santos explained to our Editor-in-Chief Steve Weintraub that the more they thought about what would make a good mid- or post-credits scene, the more they realized that they wanted those scenes to be an equal part of the finishing act of the second movie:
“Honestly, I think the one element of it is that the – without spoiling it – the very, very last beat of the film, we had discussed making that post-credits, but then we were just like, ‘You know what? This needs to be before the credits.’ So it was about which of those several moments in the end, should we make any of them post-credit? We explored Miles tied to the punching bag, we talked about that as a post-credit. We talked about Gwen and Peter B. going back, we talked about that being post-credit, but then we ended up settling on what I love, which is this kind of cross-cutting between the plight of all these characters kind of catapulting us into that next film, and knowing that the cavalry is coming for Miles.”
Not Having an End-Credit Scene in Across the Spider-Verse Was a Tough Decision
Powers and Dos Santos added that the decision to not have a post-credits scene in Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse was the result of roughly four years of working on the project. Throughout this time, they went back and forth on several decisions regarding how they’d cap off the movie, and that the ultimate goal was always, of course, wanting “people to be excited for what’s coming next” in Spider-Man: Beyond the Spider-Verse. So, they decided to work on their balancing act skills to create a final moment that would send people back home with the sensation that they had watched a post-credits scene even though there isn’t one.
Despite the lack of an end-credit scene, you won’t hear Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse fans complaining. The movie is already swinging its way into cinema history by breaking box office records, earning universal critical acclaim and having fans speculating about the franchise’s feature, as well as searching the internet for the movie’s dozens of Easter eggs.
Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse is playing in theaters everywhere now. You can watch our spoiler free interview with the directors below: