Part of the fun of keeping up with a hit movie is learning what changes almost happened during production, which might have resulted in a different film than the one you currently adore. Angelina Jolie’s latest creation, Maleficent, is the latest example of a big-screen character that went through several revisions before director Robert Stromberg settled on the look he preferred, and now we get to see some of the alternate designs that were under consideration.
Concept artist Steffen Reichstadt -- whose credits include Noah, X-Men: Days of Future Past, Edge of Tomorrow and the upcoming Dawn of the Planet of the Apes -- shared images of possible Maleficents on his official page. Some are EXTREMELY different from the finished design, as you can tell above. There’s almost a cat-like quality to the costume and facial tattoos Reichstadt put on that first Maleficent design. And with this next one, he continued to alter the face of Angelina Jolie – something the A-list actress might eventually have opposed?
That look has almost a bird-like quality, and also calls to mind the tricks used on Jennifer Lawrence’s Mystique in the X-Men movies (which, coincidentally, also feature Steffen Reichstadt’s designs).
This third alternate Maleficent design is a lot closer to what they eventually settled on. It doesn’t obstruct Angelina Jolie’s face, but it allows her free-flowing hair to stay out, and incorporates her horns into her head, instead of making it part of a head-dress. The wings are far more pronounced in this upcoming shot, and the costume has unique tweaks. I like this one a lot:
Steffen Reichstadt is beyond busy, with multiple films in theaters at the moment. In addition to Disney’s Maleficent, he also worked on Tom Cruise and Doug Liman’s Edge of Tomorrow, and offers up a different look to the movie’s signature Mech suits on his official site. Here’s one alternate shot:
Be sure to head on over to his official site to surf his amazing designs and think about what could have been for multiple summer blockbusters!
