Avengers: Infinity War almost featured a scene where Doctor Strange put on Iron Man's armor. Now, concept artist Phil Saunders has shared hi-res artwork from the sequence, which would have taken place on Ebony Maw's ship after he kidnapped the Sorcerer Supreme.
"'Iron Strange' - an idea that was cut from the script of Avengers: Infinity War," Saunders wrote on Instagram. "On the Q-Ship, Tony Stark was going to transfer his armor to Strange to protect him from Ebony Maw’s torture needles." He also shared "a keyframe of the Mk50 Iron Man suit forming over Dr. Strange, protecting him from Ebony Maw’s magic needle torture" in another post.
Concept art for the scene originally surfaced last fall, following the release of Art of Avengers: Endgame. This artwork appeared in the book, but only low-res scans of it were available -- until now. Saunders' new posts offer a closer, more detailed look at the concept art.
"The story point was that Doctor Strange is trapped by Ebony Maw, and he's being tortured with magic needles. When Tony sends his nano suit onto Doctor Strange to protect him so that he can escape, the armor forms itself around the Eye of Agamotto," concept artist John Straub explained in Art of Avengers: Endgame. "The Eye of Agamotto effectively burns a glyph into his chest and turns it into a magically powered suit, rather than an RT-powered suit. It was super fun. I wish it was still in the movie."
Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness stars Benedict Cumberbatch and Elizabeth Olsen. The film hits theaters May 7, 2021.