The Marvel Cinematic Universe has become a larger than life franchise that even the most casual viewers of the films will be able to tell you more about the superheroes from their comic books than they would have if it weren’t for these iconic movies.
Part of what makes these films such a fantastic experience is what happens behind the scenes before the film is even in full production. Concept artists will come in and present their work to the studio to show what their vision is for a character’s look or even a particular scene that is set to be in the film.
There is a substantial amount of time and effort that goes into creating concept art, especially for such a major film studio like Marvel where their films are most definitely going to be a huge blockbuster hit. While that may mean these artists put in long, grueling hours of hard work to get their concept art just right, it doesn’t always mean that their art will be chosen for this humungous production.
Even though their concept art may have not been used for the film, they are still astounding works of art that deserve to be seen, even if their vision was a little misguided or didn’t mesh creatively with the production team. In some cases, the artwork will have you wondering how they possibly passed on it in the first place because it is even better than what we saw on screen.
Here are the 29 Unused Marvel Concept Art Designs That Would’ve Changed Everything.
29 The Cap In Military Ensemble
Art by: Ryan Meinerding
Before The Cap became arguably the most popular Avenger in the franchise, the team at Marvel were trying to envision what Cap’s look should be throughout the first film, including when he was on the battlefield.
Artist Ryan Meinerding presented this concept art of Cap in a military outfit with his patriotic colors on full display.
Since Steve Rogers was meant to be a soldier that goes on “top secret missions” this probably would have drawn more attention to himself than he would have liked. While the studio went with a different design, in the end, this is still an interesting look.
28 Purely Evil Venom
Art by: Ian Joyner
Venom is a complicated antihero to attempt to bring to life via the bring screen, or in this case, through concept art. But this artist - Ian Joyner - bravely did just that and the results were creepy.
I definitely think this concept art is horrific in the best way possible, but it definitely leans more on the side of Venom being just a villain rather than having a good and evil side to him that he is always warring with.
Even so, it’s impossible to say that this isn’t an incredible piece of artwork and is a unique interpretation of Venom.
27 Iron Man’s Latest Creation
Art by: Josh Nizzi
When we saw Tony Stark again in Iron Man 3 after the events in Avengers, he seemed to have been a pretty busy man during his “off time”. He had created multiple upon multiple new Iron Man designs that he ends up destroying at the end of the film.
These armors were all different and had their own unique purpose, and this was one design that artist Josh Nizzi created titled the Bullet Armor.
You can see where the armor got its name from. This may be an unused concept art of the armor, but it is definitely very cool, regardless.
26 Scarlet Witch’s New Look
Art by: Andy Park
Andy Park is a concept artist who works for Marvel Studios and has created concept art on a number of their projects. This is one of his unused designs for none other than Scarlet Witch.
Scarlet Witch is known for the red and black tones in her costume, but this is definitely a more risque version of what we typically see her in.
It is a beyond gorgeous design for what could have been her costume, but it probably wouldn’t have been the most practical, all things considered.
25 Not-So-Lanky Groot
Art by: Jackson Sze
Groot is hands down one of the most beloved characters in not only the Guardians of the Galaxy films but in the entire Marvel Cinematic Universe.
But we almost saw a much different Groot in action.
Jackson Sze had a very different interpretation of what Groot should look like in the original film, and while the face is exactly what we remember, the body is entirely off. It may be a cool vision he had, but it definitely wouldn’t have worked on screen and he would not have been quite as endearing.
24 A Different Look For Vision
One of the best parts of Vision and his characteristics are the human-like qualities that made Wanda Maximoff fall deeply in love with him. It shows there is much more to him than what created him in the first place.
But in this concept art done by Ryan Meinerding, he loses that human touch.
While the art itself is still extremely well done, he now has red eyes rather than the more human-esque eyes we saw in the MCU. There is also much more gold featured in his costume than what we are used to. It’s an intriguing look that just fell a little short.
23 The Chitauri Invade New York
Art by: Adi Granov
Thanos’ Chitauri army invading New York thanks to Loki’s nefarious plans was the main focus in the first Avengers film. Of course, our heroes won in the end, but not without many obstacles being overcome first.
In this unused concept art done by Adi Granov, the artist thought that the way he portrayed the army was “too scary” for a family-friendly film, but what they ended up using was just as scary.
To me, Granov’s version is more robotic or futuristic looking than the Chitauri we got.
But both are equally intense, to be sure.
22 Valkyrie In The Dark World
Before Valkyrie - played by Tessa Thompson - first appeared in Thor: Ragnarok, there was a possibility that the character would show up in Thor: The Dark World.
Josh Nizzi created concept art based on what he envisioned the character to be. It is a far departure from what Valkyrie actually looked like in the MCU version, but she still looks ready to take on anyone who crosses her.
While we can definitely say that we are perfectly happy with Thompson’s portrayal of Valkyrie in Ragnarok, it is still intriguing to see a different version of her character.
21 The Original Mantis
When Mantis was first introduced to us in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, she instantly became a fan favorite with her quirky way of interacting with others.
But Mantis originally was expected to have a much different look.
Concept artist Andy Park revealed on Twitter some unused concept art he had done for the second Guardians film, which included this artwork of Mantis. The studio actually had approved this for her look, but then had to change it when filming began due to practicality issues.
Either way, we can’t help but love her.
20 The Wasp’s Costume
This is another of Andy Park’s creations, this time for Ant-Man and The Wasp. He had done several different versions of the costume Evangeline Lilly would go on to wear and this was an earlier version that was rejected.
While it is certainly an interesting and unique take on what The Wasp could have worn, it’s a lot more feminine and less practical than what we saw as the finished product in the film.
It is still fun to imagine what could have been if this concept art had been approved.
19 Fierce Black Panther
This design of the Black Panther costume was specifically meant for King T’Chaka, the father of T’Challa. They ended up using the design, sans the cape, which may seem like a relatively small change in the grand scheme of things.
But when looking at the high-collared cape, you can see that it really adds to the fierce and sinister nature of the suit as a whole.
It would have been very different if T’Chaka had worn this, even if it does exude his authority as a King.
18 Friday The 13th Meets Deadpool?
Art by: Kelton Cram
Deadpool almost had an entirely different suit than what we saw when Ryan Reynolds took on the Merc with a mouth. According to concept artist, Kelton Cram, this iteration of Deadpool’s suit was supposed to be more of an “origin suit”.
He went on to say that it was supposed to be “a self-made, makeshift suit made from motorcycle gear” that would eventually transition into the iconic suit from the comics.
This is definitely reminiscent of Jason from Friday the 13th with a Deadpool twist if you ask me.
17 Baby Groot
Art by: Josh Herman
Oh, Baby Groot. Just when you thought there was no way this adorable creature could get any cuter…he does. Concept artist Josh Herman worked on Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 and specifically on the artwork for Baby Groot. He said it was “super fun” and we could understand why.
Here, Baby Groot is pictured with a stuffed raccoon, which clearly is a nod to Rocket.
Herman used props in his art to make Baby Groot even more child-like. The finished product was still just as incredibly cute.
16 A Crazy Version Of Ultron
Art by: Phil Saunders
Avengers: Age of Ultron may not have been the most loved amongst the Avengers films, but Ultron could have been a lot more intense and different than even what we saw on screen.
In Phil Saunders’ concept art for the climax of the film, we saw a design with a monstrous multi-arm robot of sorts in the form of Ultron as he is about to devour The Hulk while Iron Man is on his way to attempt to take down Ultron’s enormous hand coming at him.
As cool as this design is, it would have probably been a bit too difficult to execute.
15 Friends Turned Foes In Civil War
Art by: Alexander Lozano
One of the more heart-wrenching films in the Marvel Cinematic Universe has to be Civil War. Watching two great friends like Steve Rogers and Tony Stark go head-to-head in a serious showdown was equal parts epic and heartbreaking.
In Alexander Lozano’s concept art for that climactic scene, we see Cap and Iron Man facing off with both of their helmets ripped off and their suits tattered.
The fight looks just as deadly in this scene as in the movie, if not more so. It’s a truly great piece of artwork.
14 Spidey-Suits
When coming up with the latest Spidey-suit for Spiderman: Homecoming, Ryan Meinerding took several passes on the design for Marvel Studios. They ultimately decided on one of his with the classic red, blue, and black color scheme but with a much smaller spider in the middle of his chest.
In these designs, Meinerding played around with the size and design of the spider on the suit and actually took a lot of inspiration from Humberto Ramos Superior Spider-Man from the comics.
These are all incredible designs Peter Parker would have been thrilled to sport, I’m sure.
13 A Conspicuous Winter Soldier
One of the biggest moments in The Winter Soldier was when it was revealed that the Winter Soldier was, in fact, Steve Rogers’ friend Bucky Barnes, who he thought perished many, many years ago.
In this design from Josh Nizzi, it would have been too obvious it was Bucky behind the eye mask.
While this may be a seriously awesome get-up for the Winter Soldier, it is not at all practical since the trench coat would make him stand out while he’s trying to blend in. And the eye mask would not hide enough of his face for him to not be recognized.
Still incredibly cool, nonetheless.
12 Black Widow’s Spy Ensemble
This concept art of Black Widow in the early days of production for Iron Man 2 has a lot of great touches and minute details that make it stand out.
Unfortunately, it looks nothing like Black Widow from the comics.
The only similarity here is her red hair, so while the spy-like ensemble is really amazing and the S.H.I.E.L.D. logo is a seriously nice detail to include, fans would have most likely been rather peeved if the red hair was the only similarity to the comics they received.
11 Thor: Ragnarok Revamped
There was a serious rift in the MCU fandom when news broke that Thor wouldn’t be sporting his long, golden waves when he appeared on Thor: Ragnarok, even though it was for a good reason.
Thor was to wear gladiator attire in the film, and the director wanted him to get a new haircut to go along with it.
Andy Park came up with a similar but slightly different design to go along with these guidelines which showed Thor with a different gladiator costume…and much shorter hair. A buzzcut may have caused even more of an uproar, had it gone through.
10 Scarlet Witch’s True Powers
Art by: Paolo Giandoso
Scarlet Witch’s powers in the MCU are a tad scaled down compared to what she can do in the comics. But in this concept art done by Paolo Giandoso, she is showing just what she is capable of - and it’s amazing.
In Age of Ultron, Wanda is seen controlling the henchmen’s minds one at a time, but in this version of the same scene, she is able to control their minds all at once.
We can’t complain about how her character played out in the MCU, though this would have been cool to see on film.
