Marvel Studios’ Phase 3 started last year on the right foot with Captain America going against Iron Man in Captain America: Civil War and later introducing a new member to the Marvel Cinematic Universe in Doctor Strange. The Sorcerer Supreme had a successful run on his first solo film and is expected to return in Thor: Ragnarok next to the God of thunder.

But just like with any adaptation of a superhero to the big screen, there were many concerns among fans over the portrayal of Stephen Strange, particularly the character's costume, as it could have easily fallen in the “cartoonish” category. In the end, Strange’s costume kept the essence of the comics without looking like it comes from, well, a comic book – and its costume designer was recently nominated in the category of Excellence in Fantasy Film at the Costume Design Guild Awards. Naturally, Strange’s costume went through many changes during pre-production, and artist Andy Park has shared one of his designs for the Sorcerer’s Supreme gear.

Through his Twitter, Park shared the following image showing an early concept design of Strange. It’s a more sober look with the upper piece looking like a long blazer (slightly like a Chinese blazer) and without the Eye of Agamotto hanging over his chest. The Cloak of Levitation is also slightly different than the final one as this one has a golden seam. What remains the same in both designs is the color palette: blue, red, gold, and brown.

A few days ago, artist Court Chu shared a different look for Strange that not only differs greatly from the final design but didn’t even include Benedict Cumberbatch as the Sorcerer Supreme. At some point in time, Ryan Gosling was rumored to be in the running for the role and Chu was commissioned with some concept art of Gosling in full Doctor Strange mode. Park's design, however, is more loyal to Strange's comic book look, with a pattern on his chest and the collar of the cloak covering his head.

It’s always interesting to see all the phases a character goes through during pre-production and how much they differ from the final product. Strange’s costume was surely a tough one as the MCU has aimed to bring their heroes to the real world as best as they can, and a costume can make a huge difference when trying to make a character believable. The costume will most likely go through some changes for future appearances of Strange, just like with every other character from the MCU.

Source: Andy Park