The makers of Avengers: Age of Ultron want you to know something about this film's post-credits ending: It's not there.
Ever since 2008's Iron Man concluded with a surprise scene of Samuel L. Jackson's Nick Fury revealing to Robert Downey Jr.'s Tony Stark that he has “become part of a bigger universe,” fans of the Marvel Cinematic Universe have known to stick around to the very end for a surprise.
But this time …
Writer-director Joss Whedon says there won't be a post-credits scene in Ultron because he felt there was no way to top the post-battle shawarma scene from the last one. “We all came at it separately—we don't want to chase that,” Whedon says. “That was a jewel and a weird little quirk. “
“There will be a tag,” Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige clarifies. That is, there will be a short, epilogue-like scene that pops up shortly after the credits start. “But there's not a post-post-credit scene.”
“There is nothing at the very end. And that's not a fake-out,” Whedon says. “We want people to know so they don't sit there for 10 minutes and then go: ‘Son of a bitch! I'll kill them!'”
Whedon says they tried to come up with something worthy of the end-credits shot but ultimately couldn't top shawarma. “It didn't seem to lend itself in the same way, and we wanted to be true to what felt right,” Whedon says. “The first rule of making a sequel is take the best moments and do something else. Don't do the Indiana Jones gun trick again differently. Just go somewhere else. Don't try to hit the same highs, because people will sense it.”
Also, the movie, out May 1, will include many other superpowered characters seen in previous films, including a few surprises, but rumors of Captain Marvel getting an introduction are false, Feige promises. There is a secret female character, but she may be familiar already. “It's not a big deal. But it's a good character,” he says.
E.R.'s Linda Cardellini and Before Sunset's Julie Delpy have been confirmed as part of the cast, although the filmmakers don't want to reveal who they are playing yet. One thing is for certain: Someone plays the instructor to a young Black Widow, and Feige and Whedon promise that will be a powerful moment in the history of Scarlett Johansson's character.
For those who will miss the signature Marvel post-credit button, here's a look back at the fascinating backstory of how that shawarma scene from the original Avengers film came together.
Read more: Avengers: Age of Ultron won't have a post-credit scene, Joss Whedon says
