Ancient Doctor Strange
Concept art from the Multiverse of Madness features an unpowered Strange variation who appears to be dressed as a lowly street magician.
Dr Strange, played by Benedict Cumberbatch, is depicted in concept art wearing a fez and a ridiculous street magician's costume.
Concept art for Doctor Strange 2 includes Melvyn, a street magician version of Doctor Strange who was cut from the final film.
The arrival of the much-anticipated Doctor Strange sequel in 2022 marked a turning point for the MCU's cosmos.
The chaotic thriller by director Sam Raimi was highlighted by a fight between Elizabeth Olson's surprisingly nasty Scarlet Witch and Benedict Cumberbatch's Stephen Strange.
However, Raimi, the famed director of Evil Dead, wasn't always planned to helm Doctor Strange In the Multiverse of Madness.
There was talk of Scott Derrickson reprising his dual roles as writer and director for the Doctor Strange sequel.
However, Derrickson eventually left the project for personal reasons, prompting Raimi to replace him.
Since Raimi took over for Derrickson, many things have changed for Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness.
After the filmmaker left the project, at least one really funny notion by Derrickson fell by the wayside.
During this meeting, Stephen Strange would have encountered one of his own variants, a kind street magician named Melvyn, as described in the official Doctor Strange 2 audio commentary starring Raimi, writer Michael Waldron, and producer Richie Palmer.
Finally, thanks to concept drawings provided by Darrell Warner, fans have a glimpse of what Melvyn Strange might have looked like in the early stages of development.
Check out the funny and wacky illustration below:
According to the audio commentary for Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, the first Marvelous Melvyn was an unpowered version of the character who had a "sweet, enlightening" conversation with Strange Prime.
However, it was ultimately decided that the villainous Sinister Strange should replace this likeable version of Strange in the final cut.
If the above concept art is any indication, it would have been great to see Benedict Cumberbatch dress up as Melvyn Strange and play a much kinder and milder-mannered version of Strange than what fans are used to seeing.
The actual Strange isn't necessarily the most appealing figure, even if he's not bad per such. He can be bossy, if not downright arrogant.
Seeing this entertaining Melvyn Strange concept art simply helps to remind us of how many fantastic ideas are conceived throughout a film's protracted production process but do not make it into the final product.
Maybe another Marvel Cinematic Universe film will give Marvelous Melvyn his due.
The overstuffed and fairly dark Doctor Strange 2 that Raimi and colleagues finally delivered left little room for this playful and ludicrous idea.
