‘Avengers: Infinity War’ Concept Art Reveals Much Different Look for Ebony Maw

Avengers: Infinity War might have had the fate of the universe hanging in the balance, but it gave time to introduce some major villains into the Marvel Cinematic Universe — including one who almost had a drastically different look.

Jerad Marantz, who served as a concept artist for the Marvel Studios film, recently shared a character design that he did for Ebony Maw (Tom Vaughan-Lawlor), one of the members of Thanos’ (Josh Brolin) Black Order. The art gives Maw a decidedly different aesthetic to what ultimately appeared onscreen, with him sporting a tighter costume and facial features that are much more pulled back.

The end result is pretty interesting, showcasing just how unique Maw’s character style could have looked while still paying homage to his Marvel Comics design. Whether or not this design would have sparked the same amount of “Hot Squidward” tweets remains to be seen.

While Maw and the Black Order certainly played a significant role in Infinity War, some were quick to argue that the full extent of their powers wasn’t necessarily shown. And as the film’s directors hinted, that sort of was the case, for a very specific reason.

“The Black Order, in particular, we worked hard to adjust them to the Marvel Cinematic Universe,” co-director Joe Russo explained on the film’s commentary track. “In the [Jonathan] Hickman run, I thought the characters were too powerful. And nobody wants the sub-villain to outshine the villain. And we adjusted their power sets so that they lined up in a way that was more interesting with our heroes. Which is why Maw’s a ‘wizard.’”

And although each of the Black Order met some sort of violent fate, with Maw being sucked out into the vacuum of space by Tony Stark and Peter Parker, Vaughan-Lawlor has hinted that he wouldn’t mind returning to the role.

“I think he’s a great character and fun to play,” Vaughan-Lawlor explained back in August. “It’s a brilliantly written character, some of the language and the dialogue that I got to say was just so much fun. Those parts are kind of gifts to actors. Also the physicality, it’s a very playful character. And yeah, it was wonderful to do, and given the opportunity, I’d love to revisit it if possible.”

What do you think of this early design for Ebony Maw? Share your thoughts with us in the comments below!

Avengers: Endgame will be released on April 26, 2019. Other upcoming Marvel Cinematic Universe movies include Captain Marvel on March 8, 2019, and Spider-Man: Far From Home on July 5, 2019.