The following article contains spoilers for Thunderbolts*.
While post-credit scenes are among the most important aspects of any Marvel Cinematic Universe production, because they last mere minutes, one might assume that they require the least amount of effort. Well, that was not the case for the concluding moment of Thunderbolts*, which teases Avengers: Doomsday.
During an interview with Young Indy Chronicles on YouTube with Thunderbolts* production designer Gavin Bocquet, he reveals a secret about the final stinger that fans familiar with Marvel Studios’ typical production methods should find amusing. It turns out that sequence was shot on a full-size, entirely practical set.
This is the kind of behind-the-scenes fact that might inspire a joke about what a surreal experience it must have been for the Thunderbolts* cast to be on a Marvel movie set that was not predominantly made up of a blue screen on a soundstage. However, as Bocquet recalls, that is an accurate reflection of the actors’ feelings.
… The actors were coming on, and they were almost saying, ‘Well, this is the first time we’ve been on a Marvel set where everything is in-camera,’ They were so used to having ‘Oh, we’ll put the blue on the screen,’ ‘we can put the ship in later…’
Bocquet explains in the video interview that Avengers: Doomsday directors Joe and Anthony Russo, who shot the post-credit sequence themselves with Thunderbolts* director Jake Schreier nearby, had only three days of post-production time to finish the scene. Because creating the interior of The New Avengers’ headquarters with CGI would take up too much time, the filmmakers had to do things the old-fashioned way and rely on a fully built practical set.
According to Bocquet, everything that can be seen in the sequence was shot on camera, including the New York City skyline, which was achieved with a “physical backing” placed beyond the windows. The scene’s only digitally added element is the footage of The Fantastic Four’s ship approaching Earth-616, which the team watches from a monitor.
How The Thunderbolts* Post-Credit Scene Teases Avengers: Doomsday
New Avengers watching footage of a ship in Thunderbolts*Image via Marvel Studios
The ending of Thunderbolts* sees the eponymous team of heroes, now going by The New Avengers, discussing the issues they have faced because of their name at their headquarters. The conversation is interrupted, however, when they intercept a live feed of an “extra-dimensional ship” with a giant, blue “4” insignia painted on the side.
The stinger appears to indicate that The New Avengers will be the first to cross paths with the Fantastic Four, who made their official MCU debuts a couple of months later in The Fantastic Four: First Steps, in Avengers: Doomsday. On top of that, fans should likely expect to see some conflict between the group and Sam “Captain America” Wilson (Anthony Mackie) over the use of the Avengers name.
Audiences expected to see the post-credit scene for The Fantastic Four: First Steps to serve as a payoff to this sequence. Instead, Matt Shakman’s film ended with its own Doomsday tease in which Susan “Invisible Woman” Richards (Vanessa Kirby) and her son, Franklin, receive an unexpected visit from Doctor Doom (Robert Downey Jr.), who, according to rumors, needs the specially gifted child to control rogue incursions occurring throughout the Marvel Multiverse.
Avengers: Doomsday is scheduled to hit theaters Dec. 18, 2026.
Release Date
December 18, 2026
Director
Anthony Russo, Joe Russo
Writers
Stephen McFeely, Michael Waldron, Jack Kirby, Stan Lee
Vanessa Kirby
Sue Storm / Invisible Woman
Joseph Quinn
Johnny Storm / Human Torch
Ebon Moss-Bachrach
Ben Grimm / The Thing