Thor: The Dark World almost featured an appearance by Thor's other brother: Balder.
Concept artist Charlie Wen posted unused artwork for the Marvel Cinematic Universe film, which indicated that, at some point, Marvel Studios planned to introduce Balder the Brave. "What Thor's older brother almost looked like. Revisiting my #balder design post from earlier before I leave #thorthedarkworld behind," Wen captioned the post.
In the comics, Balder is a longtime companion and friend to Thor. For a time, Balder was unaware of his identity as the son of Odin and Frigga.
It is unknown how he might have played into Thor: The Dark World's plot or why Marvel Studios elected not to use him. Thor: The Dark World had a very complicated development, with Wonder Woman director Patty Jenkins set to helm the project before dropping out due to creative differences. Thor: Ragnorak would later introduce Thor's older sister Hela.
Wen also shared concept art of Malekith, which depicted Mads Mikkelsen as Thor: The Dark World's villain. Mikkelsen went on to play Kaecilius in Doctor Strange, while Malekith would be played by Christopher Eccleston.
Wen served as Marvel Studio's co-head of visual development, before moving on to work on League of Legends. He later founded his own company: TenSky Entertainment.
Directed by Joe and Anthony Russo, Avengers: Endgame stars Robert Downey Jr. as Iron Man, Chris Evans as Captain America, Mark Ruffalo as Bruce Banner, Chris Hemsworth as Thor, Scarlett Johansson as Black Widow, Jeremy Renner as Hawkeye, Brie Larson as Captain Marvel, Paul Rudd as Ant-Man, Don Cheadle as War Machine, Karen Gillan as Nebula, Danai Gurira as Okoye and Bradley Cooper as Rocket, with Gwyneth Paltrow Pepper Potts, Jon Favreau as Happy Hogan, Benedict Wong as Wong, Tessa Thompson as Valkyrie and Josh Brolin as Thanos. The film is in theaters now.