Denis Villeneuve explains why he doesn’t like post-credit scenes
The post-credits scene is a short clip that shows at the end of a film, either in the middle of or after the credits have rolled. They sometimes act as a little reward to the audience for sitting through the credits or to tease a sequel movie. One director who does not like them at all, though, is Canadian filmmaker Denis Villeneuve.
In some ways, perhaps the post-credits scene is reminiscent of the encore expected at the end of a theatre production, a final moment to give thanks to the audience for watching. Sometimes films use the credits to show bloopers from production, giving fans a glimpse into the behind-the-scenes action.
Perhaps the clearest contemporary example of the post-credits scene in cinema comes in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, where fans can almost know for certain that each film from the MCU will feature a scene at the end that is worth sticking around for. They often tease future releases from the studio, developmental plotlines or merely serve as a little in-joke about the characters.
“I don’t like post-credits scenes,” Villeneuve once told NME. “There is a very specific final emotion that I was looking for with the final frame [of Dune], and I don’t want to mess with that. So no, I don’t use post-credits scenes. I’ve never done that, and I would never [do so].”
It’s a fair thing to point out from Villeneuve that there is often a lot of effort that goes into composing the final scene in a movie, from the score to the cinematography. To do away with an emotional climax by showing audiences yet another teaser scene would be counter-intuitive and take away from the hard work of the cast and crew.
Another bonus feature that Villeneuve is not keen on is the “director’s cut”, as he already feels that the theatrical version of a given film should be the final director’s cut anyway. So it’s clear that Villeneuve believes in the power of a film from beginning to end rather than requiring any additional selling points.
When promoting Blade Runner 2049, he told IndieWire, “The thing is, the movie you’re going to see is the director’s cut. There will be no further… maybe there’ll be a studio version, maybe a producer version, but not a director’s version. That’s my director’s cut. So I don’t think there will be further versions. If there are alternate versions, they’re not from me.”
