Long before a single frame is shot, movie studios sink hundreds of hours into pre-production. From this collective brainstorm, a film blueprint is birthed. But as with any process, not everything makes it to the final stage. Such was the case with some of the concept art for Lady Sif from 2011″s “Thor.”
Trying to get the feel of Asgard just right, Marvel ended up hiring several different artists to give their take on the world of Thor. Warren Manser was one of them. To give you an idea of his credentials, Manser”s portfolio includes official concepts for everything from “Man of Steel” to “The Matrix.”
Based purely on conjecture, this is VERY early concept art since Jaime Alexander was cast as Sif fairly quickly. In fact, if you go through Manser”s entire Thor gallery, you can see the stylistic change that occurs once he was told Alexander had gotten the role. All the Grace Jones-inspired looks have numbers in the teens while Official Sif™ shows up at 26.
Whether Manser had insider casting information now lost to the mists of Hollywood lore, or he just like the aesthetic of 1980s dystopian future fashion is a mystery. What isn”t though is how amazing some of these designs are. After the jump, enter a world where Lady Sif was a fashionably fabulous woman of color.