Post-Credit scenes, known as stingers or cookies and even sometimes buttons, are nothing new. But Marvel rejuvenated the trend, offering sneak peeks and/or important story elements to future franchise installments, which always come right when the movie is over. While the cookie seems to be a 'Marvel' thing, other studios are jumping on the trend as well. Though some are distancing themselves from it. One movie that was originally set to have a Post-Credit stinger that would have made fans squeal with delight was Pixels. But director Chris Columbus nixed the idea.

The original script contained a credits button that featured Nintendo's extremely popular Mario character from Donkey Kong and the Super Mario Bros. Franchise. The scene shows the Washington Monument damaged, but still standing. As the camera moves towards the the iconic landmark, Mario is seen standing on top, his hands on his hips, as he watches all from high above. The camera zooms in on his face as he smiles. Then cut to black. The scene was meant to hint at a Pixels 2, but if the critics are any indication, that may not happen. If you've seen the movie, you'll know that Mario does not make his cameo at the end. Screen Crush confronted Chris Columbus about the characters absence. He had this to say.

"We tried it. There was a moment we even did a previs of it, we thought it was interesting but we wanted to kind of use him somewhere else. I don't want to spoil the fact that he maybe somewhere else in the film but ... that ironically is a bigger moment for the audience than the ending with Mario."

So, Mario fans, if you look close enough, you will get your Nintendo fix at some point in the movie. We're not sure where that happens, though, or how easy he is to spot. He will most likely appear during the film's giant climax, which brings in characters from nearly every 80s video game ever made. Though, two video game characters based on real life celebrities were not able to make it into the movie, with Sony unable to clear the rights for Michael Jackson and Mr. T.

Nintendo's Donkey Kong does make an appearance, as you've probably seen in the trailers and TV spots. Paper Towns actually beat Pixels in Thursday night box office previews, which does not bode well for the video game adventure throughout the rest of this weekend. Though, it is possible that the film will garner a strong cult following on home video. Right now, it is one of the worst reviewed movies of the summer. Interestingly enough, Nintendo has been highly protective of its properties ever since the 1993 live-action Super Mario Bros. bombed at the box office. It looks like this could be another disaster in line with that much derided property. Will Pixels make Nintendo even more weary about allowing their franchise titles to get the big screen treatment? We'll have to wait and see.