The following contains spoilers for The Bad Guys 2The Bad Guys 2 has a wild post-credits scene that sets the stage for plenty of potential sequels. For the most part, the follow-up to DreamWorks’ 2022 sleeper hit focuses on a new batch of villains, led by the dangerous Kitty Kat. Despite this shift in focus to a new band of criminals to serve as fitting foils for Mr. Wolf and his gang, Richard Ayoade’s Professor Marmalade remains an important (if more minor) factor in the story.
For the most part, Marmalade helps move the plot along and gives the film plenty of gag opportunities, leading to a surprisingly sudden and potentially horrifying end for the character. However, the post-credits scene that follows The Bad Guys 2‘s ending lays the groundwork for a much more explosive return for the character, which could cement him as the big bad of the entire franchise. Here’s how the critically acclaimed The Bad Guys 2 takes inspiration from the source material for its wild post-credits scene — and what it means for the future of the franchise.
The Bad Guys 2’s Post-Credits Scene, Explained
Professor Marmalade Is More Dangerous Than He Appears
The post-credits scene for The Bad Guys 2 reveals the fate of Professor Marmalade amid the more chaotic climax of the film, all while teasing his true origins and eventual return. After serving as the primary antagonist of the first movie, The Bad Guys 2 relegates Marmalade to a Hannibal Lecter-type role.
Eventually freed from prison, Marmalade is seemingly doomed when his gold limo is among the objects dragged into space by the Bad Girls. However, the post-credits scene reveals this was his plan all along, as the limo is actually a spaceship that quickly blasts off at light speed.
This is accompanied by a line of dialogue that suggests Marmalade has been an alien all along, and that he’s “going home.” This could be seen as a goofy way to remove Maramlade from the board until the franchise decided to use him again. This also explains all of Marmalade’s tech and brilliance in the first film.
This also explains why the villain was so obsessed with and knowledgeable about the meteorite that crashed into Los Angeles before the events of the first film. However, this reveal also raises plenty of questions about the character’s origins and true motivations. Luckily, the books that inspired the films suggest a possible direction for this revelation.
The Bad Guys 2’s Post-Credits Scene Is Pulling From The Original Books
The Original Bad Guys Books Brought In A Lot More Sci-Fi Elements Over Time
This cosmic turn may seem to come out of nowhere in The Bad Guys 2, but it’s following the general trajectory of the book series that inspired it. In The Bad Guys book series by by Aaron Blabey, Doctor Rupert Marmalade is eventually revealed to be an alien who is initially stuck on Earth.
The prince of an interstellar species, he was initially sent to Earth in an effort to temper his tyrannical tendencies. The books eventually brought Marmalade back alongside a horde of his species, seeking to take over the world with his dangerous inventions and an army of his unwilling subjects.
While the films have been more than willing to tweak elements from the book (such as The Bad Guys 2 reimagining the books’ International League of Heroes as the far more antagonistic Bad Girls), the films seem to be more directly adapting Marmalde’s storyline closer to the books.
This means that Marmalade’s survival and escape will eventually come back to haunt the Bad Guys, even if the series takes some time to focus on the former criminals’ new missions as spies instead. He could even become an overarching villain for the series, taking on elements of other cosmic threats from the books.
How The Bad Guys 2’s Post-Credits Scene Could Be Teasing A Cosmic Sequel
The Potential Bad Guys 3 Just Got A Lot Bigger
It seems that the post-credits scene of The Bad Guys 2 is setting up the film franchise to eventually take a similar path to the books, which would make sense. It would continue to escalate the stakes of the series as it continues to go forward, bringing in a fully cosmic-level threat for the Bad Guys to contend with.
Given their newfound role as special agents protecting the world at large, an invading alien army would be exactly the kind of problem that they would be called into deal with. The Bad Guys’ personal history with Marmalade would keep the danger personal even as it took on a universal scope.
The scale of the sequels this turn tease also suggests that DreamWorks and the filmmakers have bold ambitions for the future of [The Bad Guys franchise].
It also fits with the film’s approach to morality. If the Marmalde storyline in the films fully adapts the overall arc of the same storyline from books (including Snake talking down Marmalade’s army by appealing to their innate humanity), it would be a fitting exploration of the film’s overarching themes about redemption.
The scale of the sequels this turn tease also suggests that DreamWorks and the filmmakers have bold ambitions for the future of the series. Positioning Maramalde as an alien threat raises the stakes and expands the scope for any sequels in a major way. The post-credits scene for The Bad Guys 2 might be a wild one for film audiences
