Concept artist Thomas du Crest shares previously unseen designs for Stephen Strange’s zombie form in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness.
New Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness concept art just surfaced online that showcases Zombie Strange’s even more gory initial look.
Concept artist Thomas du Crest shared the five illustrations on ArtStation. They depict increasingly more decayed versions of the Stephen Strange of Earth-617’s reanimated corpse, far exceeding how gruesomely the character was depicted in the finished film. In the accompanying caption, du Crest notes that these extreme designs for Zombie Strange (all based on the likeness of star Benedict Cumberbatch) represent some of the earliest conceptualizations of the undead sorcerer. This tracks with previous comments by VFX supervisor Erik Winquist, who recalled director Sam Raimi retooling the more graphic aspects of Zombie Strange’s scenes over the course of the production.
Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness concept art has continued to find its way online in the months following the film’s May 2022 premiere. Some of the production artwork dates back to Scott Derrickson’s original version of the sequel, before Raimi took over the production. This seemingly includes several paintings recently posted on ArtStation by du Crest’s colleague Aaron Black. Specifically, some of Black’s concept artwork appears to feature demonic supervillain Nightmare, who Derrickson intended to use as Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness‘ primary antagonist instead of Scarlet Witch.
Doctor Strange 2’s Cut Heroes and Villains
Various heroes and villains were excised from the second Doctor Strange installment’s story even after Raimi took over the reins. Notably, Thor’s half-brother Balder was set to make his Marvel Cinematic Universe debut in the film, as a member of Earth-838’s Illuminati. According to costume designer Graham Churchyard, he and his team even designed an outfit for Balder before the Norse God was cut. “Yeah, we got very far designing Balder the Brave, and then we were waiting and waiting and waiting on casting and that, I took it to a prototype stage,” Churchyard said.
Balder also appears in artist Soren Bendt’s storyboards for Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness‘ Illuminati scenes, as does another heavy-hitter omitted from the finished film: Obadiah Stane/Iron Monger. Stane served as the main villain in 2008’s Iron Man, where he was portrayed by Jeff Bridges. As Stane’s unmasked face isn’t seen in any of Bendt’s storyboards, it remains unclear whether Marvel Studios ever approached Bridges about reprising the Iron Monger role for these scenes.
