While post-credit scenes have existed long before the Marvel Cinematic Universe, the comic-book franchise has skyrocketed the concept’s popularity. The first MCU post-credit scene originated in Iron Man and introduced a character who remains a significant player in the series — Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson). The scene finds Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) arriving home, only to find Nick Fury waiting for him. After telling him that Iron Man isn’t the only superhero in the world, Nick Fury brings up the Avengers Initiative.
While appearing on Jimmy Kimmel Live! to promote the third season of The Mandalorian, Iron Man director Jon Favreau revealed an alternate version of that Nick Fury post-credit scene. You can probably imagine where this is going, as Favreau couldn’t resist asking Jackson to drop one of his iconic mother-f***ers just for fun.
The alternate Iron Man post-credit scene plays out similarly to the original, but when Tony Stark asks who he is, the S.H.I.E.L.D. director says, “Nick Fury, mother-f***er!“
“That was a top-secret shoot,” Jon Favreau said of the scene. “We had to do that on a day off. Sam Jackson came in. I’m a fan of Sam Jackson’s for sure, not just from Star Wars, but from his Tarantino films and his independent film days. So it was a blast to have him there, the eye patch, the leather jacket, and just having him on the set. He’s like a real geek, he loves comic-book culture and sci-fi.” The alternate post-credit scene was obviously filmed “just for fun,” as Favreau knew there was no way it could end up in the movie, but it’s great to have nonetheless.
It’s hard to believe how far the MCU has come since those early days. Samuel L. Jackson is still very active in the franchise, with Nick Fury next set to appear in Secret Invasion, a six-episode series for Disney+. The series also stars Ben Mendelsohn as Talos, Cobie Smulders as Maria Hill, Martin Freeman as Everett Ross, Don Cheadle as War Machine, and Kingsley Ben-Adir, Emilia Clarke, and Olivia Colman. The series will be released later this year. Jackson will also star alongside Brie Larson, Iman Vellani, and Teyonah Parris in The Marvels, the upcoming Captain Marvel sequel whose release was recently pushed back to November 10th.