Though it does fall into some typical Marvel tropes, Doctor Strange made its bread and butter out of its trippy images. Crazy practically oozes out of the frame once the movie kicks the magic into high gear, showing off everything from psychedelic dark worlds to a dimension with nothing but hands. It's almost more interesting to see what DIDN'T make the cut, which is what we have for you today. Check out this concept art of Doctor Strange's astral form that didn't make it into the finished movie.
This concept art was drawn by illustrator Ryan Lang, who shared some of his work over Twitter. The concept art sees a few versions of Doctor Strange's astral form, one of the Sorcerer Supreme's most iconic spells. The form played a big part in the movie, and like everything in a blockbuster, it went through a lot of different iterations. The above concept art has a lot more bells and whistles than the version seen in the finished film. That version was essentially just a yellow ghost, but in a move like Doctor Strange where there are time loops and magic capes, sometimes it's just best to keep things simple.
And simple is where astral projection lives. Astral projection is when Doctor Strange enters the astral plane, with his astral ghostlike form leaving his physical body behind. The astral form can't really interact with the physical world beyond speaking to people, but it does have its uses. Strange can use it to fly through walls and go unseen, making it incredibly useful for gathering intel and doing a little reconnaissance.
In the film, Doctor Strange uses astral projection a few times. He mostly used it to be a bookworm and study during the night while his physical body rested. It was also involved in a major piece of the movie when Strange was confronted by Kaecilius and his followers in the Sanctum Sanctorum. Strange entered his astral form when his body was too weak to move, and he instructed Christine Palmer as she was operating on him. He also got to have a ghost battle with the astral form of a minion.
Doctor Strange was the most successful introductory superhero movie that Marvel Studios has made yet, so you can bet there will be more Strange in the future. The blockbuster is still in theaters, for those who have yet to make a journey to the cinema.
