Avengers Endgame concept art shows how the final battle could’ve been different

Avengers: Endgame deleted scenes — (Image credit: Disney/Marvel Studios)

Avengers: Endgame was a cinematic event, becoming the highest-grossing film of all time (beating James Cameron’s Avatar) and closing ten years’ worth of Marvel movies. One thing that got everyone talking was the final battle, which saw the remaining heroes reunite with the heroes that’d vanished at the end of Avengers: Infinity War in an epic scene that involved loads of Doctor Strange’s portals.

But some recently revealed concept art shows that the final battle could’ve been different. As reported by Screen Rant, Ryan Lang, Endgame’s production designer, posted some of his work on Instagram.

Infinity War/Endgame battle process. For a bunch of characters, it was easier to use mannequins in @zbrushatpixologic ti rough out a compositions, use that as reference for the sketch, then paint it. No 3D in the final. Normally I like to sketch out my roughs, but this was a quicker way to iterate and get an approval for the composition #process Ryan Lang
A photo posted by @ryanlangdraws on Oct 19, 2020 at 1:20pm PDT

The pic shows his 3D composition work and initial sketch, as well as the final product. The most obvious differences include Thor rocking his usual look and wielding Mjölnir and plenty missing heroes – Captain Marvel and Hulk are probably the most notable characters absent.

Black Widow is also missing, but she sacrificed herself on Vormir before this scene. Her absence here suggests this crucial detail was decided by the time the concept art was produced – especially as Hawkeye is present.

The major thing the concept art reveals is that the heroes who were turned to dust in Infinity War were planned to return at this point in Endgame from early on in the development process: Scarlet Witch, Spider-Man, the Winter Soldier, and Doctor Strange all appear in the artwork. Still, this plan for the battle is definitely more scaled back than the epic final fight that made it to screen, but that could just be because the artwork is a snapshot of the overall battle.

We’ll have to wait a while for the next MCU film to hit the big screen, but until then check out our roundup of everything we know about Marvel Phase 4 so far.

I'm the Deputy Entertainment Editor here at GamesRadar+, covering all things film and TV for the site's Total Film and SFX sections. I previously worked on the Disney magazines team at Immediate Media, and also wrote on the CBeebies, MEGA!, and Star Wars Galaxy titles after graduating with a BA in English.