Avengers: Endgame Almost Featured a Very Different Look for the Ancient One

In an intricately-woven world such as the Marvel Cinematic Universe, there have been several times a supporting character pops up in a new project after not having been seen in years. That’s particularly the case with Avengers: Endgame, a movie which had several of those appearances in and of itself, including the return of the Ancient One as played by Tilda Swinton. Swinton’s character — who first debuted and was subsequently killed off in Scott Derrickson’s Doctor Strange (2016) — served a pivotal role in the grand scheme of things. Thanks to the sorcerer, fans got a better understanding of how Marvel’s take on time travel worked, providing us all an explanation of the time stream and the dangers of what’d happen if the Avengers permanently removed an Infinity Stone from any certain point in time.

As she explained it, if someone traveled back in time and made major change to the timeline — say removing an Infinity Stone — it’d split off the primary timeline into its own separate timeline and reality. According to the Ancient One, that timeline would then be doomed for eternity, although she didn’t explain how or what’d happen. Regardless, with her quick cameo appearance, the wielder of the Time Stone in 2012 almost had a hip new look, rather than looking exactly like she did in Doctor Strange.

In Avengers: Endgame — The Art of the Movie, new concept art shows the master of the mystic arts with a much less formal look than we’ve seen before. With a full sun hat and a tone down robe outfit, it’s vastly different than the yellow robes and tunics we’ve seen her wear elsewhere. In most of the concept art, she’s wearing a blue blazer of sorts, not unlike the clothing Dr. Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch) wears under the Cloak of Levitation.

For hundreds of pages of concept art, you can purchase the hard copy of Avengers: Endgame — The Art of the Movie here.

Avengers: Endgame is now streaming on Disney+.

Where do you think the Ancient One will pop up next? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below or by hitting me up on Twitter at @AdamBarnhardt to chat all things MCU!