Published Jul 28, 2026, 8:00 PM EDT
Matthew Rudoy is one of ScreenRant’s Movie & TV News Editors. He covers the latest in movie & TV news, with a focus on major franchises like Star Wars,* The Boys*,* *and Game of Thrones, and also writes some features and reviews. He wrote lists for ScreenRant from 2017-2022, became a news writer in 2023, a senior staff writer in 2024, and an editor in 2025.
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A major Phase 4 post-credits scene in the Marvel Cinematic Universe is finally getting paid off. In Phase 1-3, also known as the Infinity Saga, the MCU became known for its post-credits scenes. While some were simply humorous or contained fun Easter eggs, many of them set up upcoming movies and continued to build on the overarching storyline that eventually culminated in Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame.
In Phase 4, the beginning of the Multiverse Saga, post-credits scenes continued to be widely used, both in movies and Marvel’s Disney+ shows. These scenes included the introductions of Clea (Charlize Theron) in *Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness *and Hercules (Brett Goldstein) in Thor: Love and Thunder, along with Xu Xialing (Meng’er Zhang) taking over the Ten Rings organization in Shang-Chi and the Legends of the Ten Rings.
Despite the clear setup for these various characters and storylines, none of the aforementioned scenes have been followed up on, even 4-5 years later. In some cases, such as Phase 5’s Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania’s post-credits scene with the Council of Kangs, the lack of follow-through has to do with the Multiverse Saga’s overall plans being drastically changed.
While the specific details vary, the amount of setup and unresolved continuation for the Multiverse Saga’s post-credits scene has become a source of frustration for many fans. That being said, the MCU is finally paying off one of Phase 4’s biggest post-credits scenes due to David Jonsson’s Black Panther 3 casting.
At Marvel’s San Diego Comic-Con panel in Hall H, where ScreenRant’s Rob Keyes was in attendance, it was announced that Black Panther 3 will be released in theaters on December 15, 2028, with Jonsson playing the son of T’Challa (Chadwick Boseman) and Nakia (Lupita Nyong’o). This confirms the MCU following through on Black Panther: Wakanda Forever’s post-credits scene that reveals the existence of the secret child, Toussaint/T’Challa (Divine Love Konadu-Sun).
Since Toussaint was estimated to be around six years old in Wakanda Forever, it is unclear whether Jonsson’s grown-up version of the character is due to a major time jump, the multiverse, or another means that may connect to the inevitably game-changing events in Avengers: Doomsday and Avengers: Secret Wars.
While the explanation can wait, the important takeaway for now is that the MCU is not abandoning the major reveal of T’Challa and Nakia’s secret son from Wakanda Forever’s post-credits scene, and is instead committed to an entire sequel building off this setup. Shuri (Letitia Wright) learns of her nephew’s existence in the post-credits scene, and she will also be in Black Panther 3, as will M’Baku (Winston Duke).
As exciting as it is for the MCU to be providing a payoff for *Wakanda Forever’*s post-credits scene in Black Panther 3, the announcement doesn’t necessarily signal the start of a new trend. Between the two previous Black Panther films being massive commercial and critical hits, the awards recognition, Ryan Coogler’s enormous success with Sinners, and him being adamant about his next project being a conclusion to the Marvel trilogy, Black Panther 3 is a unique case. It was more a matter of when the movie would happen as opposed to if it would be made.
There’s still no indication of a follow-up for Multiverse of Madness’ Clea, Love and Thunder’s Hercules, or for plenty of other post-credits scenes. Simu Liu is eager to make Shang-Chi 2, and Destin Daniel Cretton has spoken about the sequel being in development, so there may be payoff for the prior movie’s post-credits scenes, but the film still isn’t officially greenlit.
Stories based on old post-credits scenes also don’t seem to align with where the MCU is headed after the release of Avengers: Secret Wars. The only other new movie announced at San Diego Comic-Con was Ghost Rider, which seemingly won’t be connected to any unresolved post-credits scenes. The small number of announcements is also an indication of how Marvel is being more selective about the projects that move forward.
Jake Schrier’s X-Men movie will also be a prominent part of the **Marvel Cinematic Universe **after Avengers: Secret Wars, but it has also been teased to be a fresh start rather than continuing what has come before. There have also been indicators of a soft reboot, which could negate the possibility of even being able to follow up on some of the Multiverse Saga’s post-credits scenes. For now, Black Panther 3 may be an exception rather than the rule of what to expect in the coming years.
Marvel Cinematic Universe
Iron Man, The Incredible Hulk, Iron Man 2, Thor, Captain America: The First Avenger, The Avengers, Iron Man 3, Thor: The Dark World, Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Guardians of the Galaxy, Avengers: Age of Ultron, Ant-Man, Captain America: Civil War, Doctor Strange, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, Spider-Man: Homecoming, Thor: Ragnarok, Black Panther, Avengers: Infinity War, Ant-Man and the Wasp, Captain Marvel, Avengers: Endgame, Spider-Man: Far from Home, Black Widow, Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, Eternals, Spider-Man: No Way Home, Doctor Strange In the Multiverse of Madness, Thor: Love and Thunder, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever , Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, The Marvels, Deadpool & Wolverine, Captain America: Brave New World, Thunderbolts*, The Fantastic Four: First Steps, Spider-Man: Brand New Day, Avengers: Doomsday, Werewolf by Night , The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special, The Punisher: One Last Kill
Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., Agent Carter, Inhumans, WandaVision, The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, Loki, What If…?, Hawkeye, Moon Knight, Ms. Marvel, She-Hulk: Attorney at Law, Secret Invasion, Agatha All Along, Ironheart, Daredevil: Born Again, Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man, Wonder Man, Echo, Marvel Zombies, Eyes of Wakanda
First TV Show
Robert Downey Jr., Chris Evans, Scarlett Johansson, Samuel L. Jackson, Jeremy Renner, Chris Hemsworth, Mark Ruffalo, Edward Norton, Paul Rudd, Tom Holland, Tom Hiddleston, Anthony Mackie, Cobie Smulders, Brie Larson, Chadwick Boseman, Sebastian Stan, Chris Pratt, Dave Bautista, Zoe Saldana, Bradley Cooper, Vin Diesel, Pom Klementieff, Josh Brolin, Karen Gillan, Clark Gregg, Paul Bettany, Don Cheadle, Benedict Cumberbatch, Evangeline Lilly, Simu Liu, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Angelina Jolie, Kit Harington, Salma Hayek, Richard Madden, Barry Keoghan, Gemma Chan, Ma Dong-seok, Brian Tyree Henry, Kumail Nanjiani, Lauren Ridloff, Lia McHugh, Jonathan Majors
Jon Favreau, Joss Whedon, Shane Black, Anthony Russo, Joe Russo, James Gunn, Peyton Reed, Taika Waititi, Ryan Coogler