What was the first movie with a post-credits scene?
Recently, I’ve noticed an audience phenomenon every time I go to the cinema. When the credits for the film begin to roll, large swathes of the crowd remain behind for a couple of minutes, waiting in perfect silence for something to happen. I know what they’re waiting for, too, because it’s the same reason I’ve found myself compelled to stay behind: the promise of a post-credits scene.
Here’s the thing, though. Most movies don’t feature post-credits scenes, no matter how thoroughly the Marvel Cinematic Universe has trained audiences to believe they’re always going to be there. So, half the time, instead of finding a funny gag or extra scene at the end of the credits, I wind up cursing myself for being so conditioned by superhero films that I forget my common sense. Then, the other half of the time, I curse myself for walking out in the middle of the credits for movies like Sinners, only to later find out there actually was an extra titbit I missed.
Naturally, this is a very silly problem to complain about, and I probably need to get out more. But it does make me think about the modern preponderance of post-credits scenes, in terms of how they’ve legitimately changed the way a generation watches movies. These days, Marvel Studios has people conditioned to always be waiting for something more, and over time, it has become incumbent upon them to make that extra scene meaningful to the overall plot. So, post-credits scenes now tend to be teasers for the next movie, instead of an additional scene from the film you’ve just been watching, and that renders many of the studio’s films inherently incomplete experiences.
All in all, this means post-credits scenes in 2025 are a world away from the first examples of the practice, which began in the 1960s, but took until the ’80s to occur with any regularity.
So, what was the first film with a post-credits scene?
The very first post-credits scene came in 1966’s The Silencers, a James Bond parody starring crooner Dean Martin.
At this time, Bond movies closed with a title card bragging, “James Bond will return”—something that Marvel homages in its films—but The Silencers decided to have some fun at the iconic superspy’s expense. So, after the credits rolled, a title card came up saying, “Coming up next: Matt Helm meets Lovey Kravezit in Murderer’s Row”, only to transition to Martin cavorting around a bed with a bevvy of sexy ladies wearing not much at all. Wouldn’t you know it, Murderer’s Row, the sequel to The Silencers, was released later that same year.
As shocking as it may be to hear, though, The Silencers did not immediately inspire a trend of post-credits scenes, instead remaining a ribald curio for the next 13 years. Then, The Muppet Movie included the second post-credits scene in Hollywood history, with the fuzzy puppets appearing after the end roll to charmingly tell any audience members inexplicably still seated, “Go home! Go home! Bye-bye!” This very scene was later referenced in Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, where the school-avoiding teen tells his audience the same thing.
Throughout the ’80s, comedies like Airplane! and further Muppet movies kept the post-credits scene flame alive, although it still wasn’t exactly a trend. It took until 1986’s Aliens and 1987’s Masters of the Universe for the scenes to hint at sequels, with the supposedly deceased Skeletor’s promise that he’d return being the most blatant sequel tease in Hollywood history at that point.
However, once again, no trend materialised, and post-credits scenes continued to be scattered afterthoughts throughout the ’90s and ’00s, before Samuel L Jackson turned up at the end of Iron Man talking about the “Avengers initiative”. From that point on, post-credits scenes were here to stay.
