Doctor Strange Dormammu Concept Art Is Scarier Than Movie Version

Doctor Strange has been another huge win for Marvel Studios, not only earning over half a billion dollars at the box office, but also setting a new record as Marvel’s best solo character debut film, ever.

However, even though a lot of Marvel fans have been thrilled and happy with Doctor Strange, the movie has had its critics. We here at Comicbook.com did a breakdown of Doctor Strange‘s disappointing elements – and one of the biggest letdowns by far was the Marvel Cinematic Universe depiction of Dormammu.

Many fans of Marvel Comics have taken issue with how Dormammu – a frightening dark entity in the comic books – was made into a cartoonish talking head that some compare to hated characters like Parallax in the Green Lantern movie. Well, now we have new concept art of Dormammu to share, and it certainly looks like Marvel and director Scott Derrickson could’ve gone in a very different direction with the villain.

As you can see in the gallery of photos, Dormammu – in general – looked much scarier in original concept art design. Another recent piece of concept art revealed that Dormammu’s disciples (led by Mads Mikkelsen’s Kaecilius) also had a much darker design in concept art. One has to wonder if Derrickson (a horror director) and his team once had a different vision for Strange – one that needed to be lightened up (“Disneyfied,” if you will) in order to help the film play well to younger crowds.

While it makes sense to have held back from making Doctor Strange too dark or occult heavy (obviou$ly), older Marvel fans will no doubt be left discussing and speculating about what could’ve been. But then, that’s pretty much par for the course with every Marvel movie.

NEXT: Stan Lee Talks Doctor Strange Cameo / Why Doctor Strange Is A Disappointment /Director Scott Derrickson Took A Doctor Strange Prop Home / Doctor Strange Gets A Manga Prequel / Doctor Strange Almost Had A Different Villain / Every Doctor StrangeEaster Egg, Cameo, And Reference / Doctor Strange Breaks IMAX Record

Doctor Strange is in theaters now, followed by Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 on May 5, 2017. Next up is Spider-Man: Homecoming on July 7, 2017, with Thor: Ragnarok landing on November 3, 2017. Black Panther debuts on February 16, 2018, followed by the eagerly anticipated Avengers: Infinity War on May 4, 2018. Ant-Man and the Wasp hits on July 6, 2018, with Captain Marvel finally hitting theaters on March 8, 2019.