Avengers: Infinity War Concept Art Reveals Scrapped Knowhere Scene

Screen Rant

Stunning Avengers: Infinity War Concept Art Reveals Scrapped Knowhere Scene

By Thomas Bacon

Published Jul 3, 2018

Stunning concept art from Avengers: Infinity War gives us a look behind-the-scenes at the blockbuster film - and reveals a deleted scene.

Marvel's Pete Thompson has published stunning concept art from Avengers: Infinity War, even revealing a key scene that was cut from the script - the fall of Knowhere.

Avengers: Infinity War is a unique film, shot entirely with IMAX technology in order to create some of the most beautiful, arresting landscapes in the MCU to date. The movie blended familiar locations like New York City, Wakanda, and Knowhere with all-new settings such as Vormir and Nidavellir. Now, little by little, concept artists are beginning to publish their work online and give viewers a sense of just how Marvel created this film.

The latest Marvel insider to reveal samples of his work is Pete Thompson. One of Marvel's most celebrated concept artists, Thompson won an Art Directors Guild award in 2015 for Guardians of the Galaxy; he was nominated again last year for Doctor Strange. Over on his portfolio website, Thompson has just published a sample of work related to Avengers: Infinity War. It includes designs ranging from the Nidavellir furnace to Shuri's lab in Wakanda. But the most remarkable are related to Knowhere.

The samples of concept art actually tease an important scene, one that was evidently cut from Avengers: Infinity War's script. One bears the title "Knowhere Evacuation," and clearly shows a number of vessels launching from Knowhere, presumably carrying people who are desperate to escape. A second image, however, shows that there was no escape for the citizens of Knowhere; it's called "Knowhere Evacuation Destruction," and shows these vessels exploding, victims of Thanos's wrath.

The final theatrical cut of Avengers: Infinity War didn't actually show Knowhere's destruction. The Guardians of the Galaxy arrived after Thanos's attack, but the reality of it was cloaked from their sight by the Reality Stone. It was only when Thanos stopped using the Reality Stone that the Guardians realized the whole place had been ravaged by Thanos, and there wasn't even a trace of any survivors. This concept art indicates that the Russos toyed with a different version of events, even commissioning art to show Thanos's assault on Knowhere. As beautiful as this concept art may be, they probably made the right decision; the final scene worked well.

Another piece of concept art is called "Statesman Cockpit Destruction," and it appears to show a slightly different version of the film's opening scenes. Set on the Asgardian vessel, the art has Thor locked in battle with the Black Order, even as Thanos chokes the life from Loki. The Hulk already lies at Thanos's feet, defeated, his face a grimace of pain. In the final version, of course, Thor was captured and forced to watch as Loki died before his eyes. This time, there would be no resurrections for the God of Mischief.

You can check out the concept art at Thompson's portfolio website. It shows just how much work Marvel put into the production of Avengers: Infinity War - and why the film deserved to perform so well in the box office.