Doctor Strange 2 Concept Art Shows Original Illuminati With Iron Man Villain

New storyboard art from the 2022 film Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness showcases a different set of Illuminati members that Scarlet Witch would have faced off against.

The latest batch of art, which comes courtesy of artist Soren Bendt, features a different version of the Illuminati than the one we saw in the film. Instead of Reed Richards (played by John Krasinski) and Black Bolt, early art had the Iron Monger version of Iron Man and Baldur the Brave in their place. The Iron Monger suit was used by Obadiah Stane in the very first Iron Man film, while Baldur the Brave is a Norse god from Asgard and the half-brother of Thor.

While neither ended up in the film, both an Iron Man variant and Baldur were heavily rumored to appear, with many rumors even suggesting that Tom Cruise was set to play the variant of Tony Stark in the film. That didn’t end up happening, but judging by the early storyboards for the film, it does look like there were plans for an entirely different group for Wanda Maximoff to take down.

Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, which is now streaming on Disney+, sees the return of Benedict Cumberbatch as he reprises his role as Dr. Stephen Strange. This time, the Sorcerer Supreme is joined by Elizabeth Olsen’s Wanda Maximoff, who has finally transformed into the Scarlet Witch during the WandaVision finale.

The film was directed by Sam Raimi (Spider-Man trilogy) from a script written by Emmy winning scribe Michael Waldron (Loki). It was executive produced by Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige.