Chapter 1178: Movie Star (6)

The film director was smiling brightly through the video call.

I asked Director John Edwards,

「It was completed faster than I expected?」

「The basic work was already finished. Adding you, Sunny, was like putting ketchup and mustard on a hot dog. Well, calling it sauce might be inaccurate since your performance was more like the main dish, but anyway.」

The director licked his lips after saying that he suddenly wanted a hot dog, and I laughed before speaking.

「John.」

「Hm?」

I was slightly nervous.

I had checked the results on set, but that was only me monitoring my own performance. I had no idea what the final product actually looked like.

「How is it…? Did it turn out well?」

「Haha.」

He let out a hearty laugh.

「See for yourself.」

「You’re not going to tell me?」

「Of course not. Watch it yourself and judge.」

Director John Edwards made a teasing expression.

But from his reaction, I could tell the post-credits scene had turned out pretty well.

If the quality had only been average, he would have said something like, “It came out at a satisfactory level~”

「But I can guarantee one thing. This post-credits scene will become an incredible promotional tool for <Guardians 2>.」

「Really?」

「Of course.」

After answering, the director warmly asked how I had been feeling lately and whether preparations for filming were going smoothly.

Then he said,

「Let’s talk again after you’ve seen the post-credits scene.」

「Yes, sir.」

I was about to press the button to end the call when something suddenly occurred to me.

「By the way, John.」

「Uh-huh?」

「I don’t know much about this, but a post-credits scene is something you can only see if you watch the movie on the day it releases, right? It’s not something that gets uploaded online or anything.」

「That’s right.」

「…I’m not sure I’ll have time to watch the movie.」

With my current schedule, I wondered if I would even have enough time to sit down and watch a movie.

The director laughed loudly at that.

Then he said, “Take care, Sunny,” before adding,

「But you’ll have plenty of time to see the reactions. You’ll probably get flooded with questions from everyone around you. Do you know where this will be revealed first?」

「No.」

「Korea.」

South Korea.

Its population ranked around 30th in the world, but its film market was considered one of the top ten in the industry.

Because of that, many major Hollywood films had their first release in Korea.

That’s something to be grateful for, but……

A man in his twenties smiled faintly while standing inside a movie theater.

Does a first release even mean anything?

He was staring at the poster displayed in the multiplex cinema.

[Black Wizard: The Age of Magic]

The poster showed a man dressed in black, holding a staff and striking a pose that looked like he was going “hoit hoit.”

The man looking at it, a Silver Comics fan in his twenties, squeezed his eyes shut.

Who’s going to watch this when they make a poster with this kind of quality? Anyone can tell it’s some cheap B-grade superhero movie.

The sad part was that he was not wrong.

It was not just the poster.

The movie itself had that same B-grade feeling.

The Silver Comics fan felt miserable.

The other side makes great merchandise and good movies too. So why are we like this? Why can’t we ever be happy?

Their rival, Wonder Comics, was constantly attracting new fans and had become a mainstream genre.

Meanwhile, the Silver Comics franchise he followed was treated like an unwanted child in Korea.

It had a fandom size comparable to science fiction.

There was even a joke that if you combined the fans of three famous works from a niche genre, they would become one fan—

because that one person was a fan of all three.

That was how small the Silver Comics fandom was.

Because of that, the atmosphere within the fandom grew worse every day.

[Silver Comics is completely doomed, right?]

Honestly, I don’t think there’s any hope anymore.

That was why whenever someone visited fan communities online, most discussions were negative.

[Why the Silver Comics project failed from the beginning]

[This franchise has no hope??? Just watch Wonder instead]

[Here’s how to tell if someone is a normie or a nerd?

“I like Wonder movies haha” (normie) / “I like Silver Comics movies” (nerd)]

It was understandable.

Most of the Silver Comics movies released so far had received mediocre reactions.

Of course, Wonder Comics movies were not exactly beloved by critics either.

The difference was that Wonder received cheers from audiences, while Silver was ignored by them.

Was there some special reason?

No.

They just couldn’t make good movies.

Silver Comics was famous for excessive interference from upper management, while the person in charge of projects was notorious for starting things without thinking them through.

It was the ultimate example of a disastrous team project.

The latest film, <Phoenix: A New Beginning>, which had been expected to revive the series, had received a disastrous score and completely failed.

“Ugh. This is so frustrating.”

The fan, who had been looking at the poster, turned away.

Then he noticed something at the theater’s merchandise store.

Wonder Comics heroes were displayed prominently as figures.

Silver Comics heroes, meanwhile, were shoved into a corner.

I need something sweet. Something sweet.

Feeling emotional, the fan ordered popcorn and cola.

“One Black Wizard set, please.”

“Yes. What flavor would you like?”

“Sweet popcorn, and zero cola.”

“Yes~ I’ll help you with payment~”

The fan hugged the special movie set sold as a theater souvenir and walked away.

With the popcorn bucket tucked under his arm, he struggled to pull out his ticket and showed it to the employee before sitting down.

Wow. Look how empty it is.

Even considering it was a weekday, this was a sight impossible to see with a Wonder Comics movie.

Including himself, there were around twenty people in the theater.

Same age range, similar fashion styles, everyone staring only at their phones.

They were clearly the same kind of people.

Why are there no normal people watching our movies?

Wonder movies had couples and families filling theaters on opening days.

Silver movies had nothing but hardcore fans.

As he shook his head—

A voice interrupted his thoughts.

[It probably won’t be easy to keep up with my speed.]

A telecom company’s 5G advertisement.

Wearing a tracksuit, Seon Wooju walked down a hallway with his long legs on full display.

[Come on. Try following me.]

A cheerful rock-and-roll background track played.

NewBlack members appeared running energetically.

Junghyun sweating while doing parkour in protective gear.

Jiho performing tricks on a skateboard.

Ri Hyuk typing at incredible speed inside a computer world.

Biju dancing to a fast beat in a practice room.

And so on.

The Silver fan’s eyes landed on Wooju.

He’s ridiculously handsome. Seriously.

The person currently considered one of the strongest candidates for Best Original Song at the Academy Awards.

The leader of Korea’s top idol group.

And also someone who brought complicated feelings to Silver Comics fans.

[NewBlack’s Wooju to become a villain… “Considered for main villain role in <Guardians 2>]

Because of that, the domestic fandom had already been shaken once.

Reactions were divided.

-????? Suddenly an Asian villain.. They’ve really hit rock bottom.

-???????? I can only laugh.

-Has his acting even been proven? Aside from appearing as a supporting character in that alien sitcom, what has he done?;;

-LOL????? It’s over.

People who cursed the project no matter what happened.

People who hated their niche suddenly receiving mainstream attention.

But the majority reaction was, as always—

People desperately hoping the movie would be saved.

Despite the trolls dominating discussions, the general feeling among Silver Comics fans was this:

I really hope <Guardians 2> turns out well.

They had been waiting for at least one good movie.

While they thought that, the theater’s emergency evacuation announcement played.

The screen narrowed.

The lights dimmed.

Gulp.

The fan’s face lit up with a smile as he ate popcorn.

The title featuring live-action characters appeared.

[SILVER COMICS]

Even though he knew he would probably be disappointed again, the moment that silver logo appeared, his heart always skipped a beat.

And then—

Damn it.

As the movie began, the smile disappeared from his face.

[You have been chosen, Dwayne.]

[Oh!]

A mysterious magic staff suddenly told the protagonist he was the chosen hero and granted him powers.

Don’t give someone powers like this!!! Please give it some actual buildup!

[Dwayne! I love you!]

Thirty minutes into the movie…?

[My goal is to destroy the balance of this world and bring about the age of magic. Hahahaha!]

The villain is ridiculously weak again. Seriously.

The Snow Master, who opposed the protagonist Black Wizard.

A great mage wearing the same tacky white costume from the comics, firing lasers from his staff.

“Whew.”

“Wheeeew.”

While fans around the theater trembled and sighed—

the niche fans began activating their usual coping mechanism.

It wasn’t all garbage.

There were good points.

The story was bad, but some of the CG scenes were genuinely impressive.

The scene where Snow Master cast magic from the Empire State Building, destabilizing the balance between worlds as creatures from another dimension pushed their tentacles through the gates, had incredible visuals.

The protagonist’s magic also had impressive impact.

And.

And…

Well, another thing…

Uh…

Anyway, there were good parts.

It felt like if they only changed the story, directing, actors’ performances, costume designs, and director, they might be able to make a great movie.

At the end, the protagonist defeated Snow Master and kissed the heroine on top of the Empire State Building beneath the sunset.

[How about we go get that hamburger we promised?]

[I’m getting a shake too.]

[Caramel chocolate?]

[Obviously.]

After a meaningless conversation trying to act clever, the screen slowly faded and the ending credits began.

“Ha……”

As sighs and groans filled the theater—

most fans stared at their phones while waiting for the post-credits scene.

-????????? Those who haven’t watched it yet are the winners.

They checked other fans’ reactions and visited movie review sites, but there were still no reviews.

That was natural.

This was the first screening.

It’s probably going to get destroyed by general audiences…….

He was already worried about the audience ratings and reviews.

“Hmm?”

“Ah……”

The screen darkened again, and everyone put their phones away.

It was time for the post-credits scene.

What kind of teaser is it?

The fans watched with indifferent expressions after being disappointed by .

Then the screen brightened.

Rustle—

A deer drinking from a stream.

Then—

[Bang!]

A gunshot rang out, and the deer collapsed.

The hunter who had aimed at it through a scope stood up.

A bearded man with a large build wearing a Texas hat spoke to his companion.

[Got a big one.]

The gun was clearly illegally modified.

The hunters laughed as they approached the deer, bragging about who had caught the bigger one.

But then—

[Hyaaagh!]

[Holy crap…!]

The blood-covered deer struggled, knocking the man backward.

With an enraged expression, he grabbed a knife and cut the deer’s throat.

[You scared me. Damn… I got blood everywhere. Hey, Henson.]

[…….]

[Henson?]

But his companion stood completely still.

The Texas man turned around.

[What the hell…]

He stopped speaking.

Because a herd of deer was silently watching them.

The Texas man swallowed.

[What are you scared of? They’re just deer.]

[Do those look like normal deer to you?]

[…….]

The deer stared at them.

The man threatened them with his gun.

But the deer slowly began closing the distance.

[Aaaah!]

A scream rang out as the screen pulled away.

Gulp.

The audience swallowed.

What is this atmosphere…….

Whoa. What is happening.

A post-credits scene only thirty seconds long was more tense and gripping than the entirety of .

Then the screen changed.

[Breaking news! The lions at the zoo have escaped…]

[Aaaah!]

Lions escaped from their cages.

[What happened?]

[The monkeys in the laboratory…]

Monkeys trapped behind laboratory bars began thrashing violently.

Then the scene changed.

A majestic background score.

Like nature itself was moving, various scenes unfolded dramatically.

Hundreds of eagles covering the sky.

Thousands of snakes crawling across beaches.

Animals moving as if they had received orders from a king and become an army of an entire nation.

Wait… this is…

As animals appeared as the central clue, the fans realized what the post-credits scene was revealing.

Their hearts began pounding.

Then a man sitting crouched by the ocean appeared from behind.

Their arms broke out in goosebumps.

That’s it.

The screen was dark and gloomy.

A white whale covered in black oil had washed ashore, reaching the end of its life.

[Eeeeeek—]

The whale, having exhausted all strength, collapsed.

Covered in thick black oil, it was reaching the end of its lifespan.

A heartbreaking scene.

The camera slowly moved toward the man crouching in front of it.

[…….]

Finally, the whale lowered its head and went limp.

[Eeeeeu…]

[…….]

A solemn atmosphere.

An atmosphere where it felt as though humanity itself needed to apologize for its sins.

The man slowly stood.

A charisma beyond reach overwhelmed the audience.

Uh……

The beast slowly turned his head.

Just before the audience flinched at Fang’s painfully clear gaze—

they saw tears flowing from one of Fang’s eyes.

They were undoubtedly clear tears…

but somehow, to the audience, they looked like tears of blood.

Even before the movie had begun, they felt as though they understood the villain’s entire backstory.

Uh……

Then the post-credits scene abruptly ended and the ending credits rolled.

But none of the Silver Comics fans moved.

Uh…

Uhh……

The glowing screens of their phones continued.

As other fans online wondered what had happened, they slowly regained their senses.

But they couldn’t type.

Their hands were trembling.

“Uh… uh……”

Their hearts pounded violently.

After taking a few deep breaths to calm themselves, the Silver Comics fans connected to the internet and began writing.

I have to tell them. I have to let them know.

And—

Just as they expected, the post-credits scene immediately caused an explosive reaction.