The idea of post-credits scenes in Marvel Cinematic Universe was introduced in Jon Favreau’s Iron Man (2008). Since then, avid fans have sat through rosters of names before witnessing what little hints or treats the creators have prepared for them.
Sitting through the end of a movie has become an exciting experience for fans because of this. Unfortunately, as much as Favreau wanted to keep this a little secret, he could not hide it from the paparazzi.
Samuel L. Jackson’s Post-Credits Scene In Iron Man Leaked Almost A Year Before Its Release
Kevin Feige spoke with Entertainment Weekly and revealed the birth of Marvel Studios’ post-credits scenes. He admitted being a huge film nerd and he once dreamed of seeing his name on the big screen.
He remembered watching the end of a movie where the titular hero poked his head back into the screen and told viewers to go home. He thought it was funny and genius, so he did the same with MCU. He told EW:
“What do we think would be a fun extra at the end of the movie? What do we think would be a fun thing slightly outside the narrative, but tied to the grander overall narrative, that would be the fun reward for people sitting through all of our names?”
They planned to give Samuel L. Jackson a cameo appearance in Iron Man, but it had to be subtle, or he may steal the scene from the main character. Feige added:
“We wanted Nick Fury to be the character to intertwine characters, but we didn’t want to interrupt the movie. You know, if Sam Jackson in an eyepatch showed up in the middle, it might be jarring. I presumed the only people who would stay through the credits were people who would know who the guy in the eyepatch was.”
Jackson appeared in the post-credits scene in Iron Man as SHIELD director Nick Fury where he first introduced the idea of the Avengers Initiative. Jon Favreau tried to make this scene as secret as possible despite the swarm of paparazzi trying to steal a few photos.
To the director’s horror, a popular movie rumor site called Ain’t It Cool News published Jackson’s cameo. Writer Drew McWeeny, aka Moriarty, wrote:
“Today, though, [Robert Downey Jr. is] shooting scenes featuring an actor who is a set-up for a larger Marvel continuity, and it’s exciting because I’m hoping this character can start showing up in other films, and we’ll start seeing Marvel Studios creating a larger world, one that exists outside the frames of the individual movies. This is a major step towards making that AVENGERS movie we’ve been hearing about. So who’s the actor? Who’s the character? Sam Jackson. Nick Fury.”
The entire team’s effort to keep Jackson’s appearance in the film a secret went down the drain, and to think that the movie wouldn’t be released for almost a year caused Favreau so much distress.
Jon Favreau Diverted Fans’ Attention From The Rumored Leak
Everyone at Marvel Studios kept quiet about the leaked information except for Avi Arad. Jon Favreau posted on his MySpace account about the last day of shooting for the movie at Caesars Palace, ending the post with (via SuperHeroHype):
“I would also like to thank Caesars for their hospitality, generosity, and Swank accommodations.”
The capital letter S in Swank might have been a hint at the actress Stacy Stas (who looked like Hilary Swank) for having a brief scene in the Iron Man film. Still, it sparked rumors that Swank might have a cameo, giving Arad the opportunity to spread false information to the public.
