Don't Look Up end credits scene explained
Adam McKay's satire ends with an amusing scene during the credits.
How would the world react if scientists reliably informed us that a comet was set to collide with Earth – one that would instantly destroy all life on the planet? That's the question posed by Adam McKay in his new Netflix film Don't Look Up, which has now arrived on the streamer.
And the answer, according to McKay's film, is that the threat wouldn't be taken all that seriously, not to begin with at least.
Despite the best efforts of low-level astronomers Randall Mindy (Leonardo DiCaprio) and Kate Dibiasky (Jennifer Lawrence) to explain the imminent catastrophe, the public in the film are more concerned with learning everything they can about a recent celebrity breakup, while the President cares far more about how she will fare in the upcoming midterm elections than the apparently apocalyptic impact of the comet.
However, as the film progresses, different characters begin to behave in drastically different ways as the reality of the situation becomes clear – with society becoming further divided on the issue and tech billionaire Peter Isherwell (Mark Rylance) hatching his own plan for how best to deal with the comet.
This all ends in an explosive finale, after which audiences are treated to an amusing post-credits scene that calls back to a joke earlier in the film. Read on for everything you need to know about that final scene.
By entering your details, you are agreeing to our terms and conditions and privacy policy. You can unsubscribe at any time.
Don't Look Up end credits scene explained
When Peter Isherwell's plan to blow up the comet into several smaller ones – such that he can mine it for precious minerals – goes south, it seems that Earth is doomed, but Isherwell and some other lucky social elites have a plan B, managing to escape Earth on a secret ship before the comet hits.
In a mid-credits scene, we see this ship landing on a new planet millions of years later – with the escapees all emerging from the ship naked, having been in hypersleep for the duration of their journey.
President Orlean (Meryl Streep) originally seems to be enchanted by this colourful new paradise, but when she approaches an exotic-looking creature it doesn't seem so happy to see her – lashing out at her and proceeding to eat her alive.
This calls back to a moment earlier in the film, when Isherwell had used his latest technological innovation to predict how Orlean would die. At the time, his assertion that she would be "eaten by a brontoroc" sounded nonsensical – but this incident appears to prove that he was correct all along.
Following Orlean's death, several more of the mysterious animals appear and surround the other surviving humans – and it seems unlikely that they will avoid a deadly fate.
At the very end of the credits, there is one more brief scene. We see that Earth has become a total ruin, but it then emerges that there is one survivor – Jason Orlean, who had been left behind by the escape ship. The last thing we see him do is take out his phone to record a video. Alas, it seems no one else is around for him to share it with...
If you want more movie content, you can read our Don't Look Up review or take a look at our full Don't Look Up cast guide.
Don’t Look Up is streaming on Netflix now. If you’re looking for something else to watch, check out our TV Guide or visit our dedicated Movies hub.
Authors
Patrick Cremona is the Senior Film Writer at Radio Times, and looks after all the latest film releases both in cinemas and on streaming. He has been with the website since October 2019, and in that time has interviewed a host of big name stars and reviewed a diverse range of movies.
