Scarlet Witch Concept Art Reveals The Doctor Strange 2 Horror Villain We Almost Got

New concept art for Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness reveals several unused designs for Wanda Maximoff that would have made the movie’s ending way more terrifying than it already is. Wanda has had one of the more complicated character arcs in the MCU, going from misguided villain to heroic Avenger to terror of the multiverse. Her eventual heel turn leads to her apparent death in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, though there’s still ample speculation about when Scarlet Witch will appear next in the MCU.

In addition to her evolving character journey, Wanda also undergoes several visual redesigns in the MCU Phase 4, first gaining a more comics-accurate costume in WandaVision and later becoming visually corrupted by the Darkhold. Though dark eyes, an imposing magical aura, and the blood of the Illuminati make Scarlet Witch appear scarier and scarier throughout Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, a new reveal shows that she almost looked a lot more monstrous. Though the alternate designs were ultimately not used, they offer an exciting glimpse into what almost came to be.

Doctor Strange In The Multiverse Of Madness Concept Art Reveals A Far Scarier Scarlet Witch

The Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness cast features several surprising cameos as Strange and America Chavez hop dimensions, and, as Wanda hunts them down, she slowly becomes more evil-looking while the Darkhold’s corruption deepens. However, concept art from Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness – The Art of the Movie (and shared on Reddit by u/Louis_DCVN) reveals alternate designs that make this transition even more terrifying. Various pieces of unused character art paint the Scarlet Witch as a terrifying and decreasingly human agent of destruction. See all the images below:

The images appear to represent the character at different points in the movie, and some are close to what ended up on-screen, but others are a marked departure from what’s in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. In particular, the images that distort Wanda’s face and create her iconic Scarlet Witch headdress out of deformed organic material are pure nightmare fuel and really sell that the Darkhold is truly in control. Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness plays with the idea of going full-on horror movie, and these designs would have driven that home.

How Scarlet Witch’s Redesign Would Have Made Doctor Strange 2’s Ending More Terrifying

In Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, Wanda Maximoff is driven by her desire to re-claim her children Billy and Tommy, who exist in other dimensions but have only appeared in her own as figments of her magic. Towards the end of the movie, Wanda finally comes face-to-face with flesh-and-blood versions of her children (and herself), only to find them absolutely terrified of what she’s become. It’s an effective scene, but their immediate terror seems a bit rushed as the multiversal Wanda still looks largely normal.

The scene would have been much more terrifying if Scarlet Witch had become a truly deformed distortion of herself, physically as well as mentally. The horror-movie-inspired designs presented in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness concept art would have given Wanda’s kids a true and immediate reason to be terrified. However, the more human final design still works for other reasons.

Why Doctor Strange 2 Didn’t Use Wanda’s Scarier Visual Designs

While there’s been no official comment or clarification on why Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness ultimately chose to keep Scarlet Witch looking more human as opposed to the more monstrous designs that were considered at one point, a few possibilities seem likely. First, the creative team behind the movie may have thought that there’s a unique terror in an evil that looks human. Scary monsters are expected to act as such, but a person – even one with magical abilities – visibly distraught by grief may strike a more realistic chord in many regards. The lack of CGI cover-up also allows Elizabeth Olsen to portray more emotion in her acting.

Alternately, the decision to keep Scarlet Witch looking less demonic may have been to keep some narrative ambiguity. Though WandaVision and Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness both make it clear that Wanda has fallen under the corruption of the Darkhold, it’s never very clear where the line between her choices and its powerful draw lies. Having Wanda appear more clearly and visibly changed seems to take away the possibility that at least part of her is embracing the darkness, which removes some interesting depth from her MCU character arc.