Yesterday is an original musical fantasy rom-com, but does it have an after-credits scene? Written by Richard Curtis (Four Weddings and a Funeral; Love, Actually) and directed by Danny Boyle (Trainspotting, 28 Days Later), the film stars Himesh Patel as struggling singer-songwriter Jack Malik and Lily James as his longtime friend, Ellie Appleton. Just when Jack’s ready to give up on his dreams, a sudden global blackout leads to him getting hit by a bus and waking up to a world where The Beatles never existed. Recognizing the opportunity at hand, Jack begins passing the band’s tunes off as his own, and is soon haled as a songwriting genius.
In addition to having an unusual premise, Yesterday is hitting theaters at a time in the summer when, nowadays, it’s rare for anything but franchise movies or big-budgeted offerings to be playing in wide release. Case in point: Curtis and Boyle’s film will be going up against Annabelle Comes Home at the box office this weekend, along with the Avengers: Endgame re-release (which includes additional footage after the credits). No doubt, there are moviegoers who will enjoy the change of pace afforded by this one.
For those who are curious, however, Yesterday does NOT include an after-credits scene. It’s always worth staying for a movie’s end credits simply as a show of respect, of course, and those who hang around here will be rewarded with some cheerful Beatles music for their efforts. What they won’t get, though, is an extra scene or post-credits stinger.
While after-credits scenes are typically reserved for franchise offerings, they do pop up in other types of films every now and then. For example, last year’s Dick Cheney biopic Vice included a mid-credits scene that payed off a thread from earlier in the film. Standalone comedies are similarly known for including credits scenes in the form of bloopers or extended versions of moments from the movie, with last month’s Dirty Rotten Scoundrels remake The Hustle being a recent example. And in a way, Yesterday’s very last scene - which, like Vice, revisits a gag that’s recycled throughout the film - almost functions in the same way as a funny post-credits clip.
That being said: Yesterday does, in fact, wrap things up before its credits start rolling. Similarly, its final scene feels more like a one-off joke than the setup for another film set in this Beatles-less reality that Curtis and Boyle have come up with. As such, those who need (or simply want) to take off when Yesterday’s credits kick in don’t need to worry about missing anything extra. And again, for those who do remain seated, there will be some enjoyable music to listen to… music that, thankfully, does still exist in the real world.
- Yesterday Release Date: 2019-06-28