Over the weekend at the Saturn Awards, in their 45th rendition, Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige took to the stage to accept the Stan Lee World-Builder Award, as well as drop some tidbits of Marvel movie goodness for the fans. Most-interesting, perhaps, was an alternate take of Iron Man‘s post-credits scene, back from 2008 (or more likely 2007, when it was in production).
Nick Fury references Spider-Man and the X-Men in this alternate take from the post-credit scene in ‘IRON MAN’. #Potentiality pic.twitter.com/OmtHItzovl
— Adam Hlavac (@adamhlavac) September 14, 2019
The Tweet comes from Adam Hlavac, in which we see Samuel L Jackson as Nick Fury, referencing “radioactive bug bites and assorted mutants”; clear nods to our favorite web-slinger and Xavier’s band of weirdos.
The footage arrived alongside news of the Infinity Saga box set, which will serve as the de-facto release of Marvel Studios’ 23 films.
The Iron Man take is a relic from a smaller time in the MCU, and has no real implications for the films moving forward, but it’s a fun Easter egg for fans. If anything it’s also proof of just how thought-out the Marvel schedule is, with contingencies like this planted to cover any possibilities, barring legal logistical nightmares.
Feige has commented on the role of the X-Men in the MCU’s future, and currently Peter Parker’s place in all this feels up in the air. The next installment of superhero action will be Black Widow, set for a May 1, 2020 release.
Watch: Kevin Feige Reveals Never-Seen ‘Iron Man 1’ Post-Credits Scene Referencing X-Men, Spider-Man [Collider]