CAPTAIN AMERICA: THE FIRST AVENGER Concept Art Reveals A Different Origin Story For The Red Skull

Some new Captain America: The First Avenger concept art reveals a completely different take on the origin story of the movie's villain and his transformation from Johann Schmidt into the Red Skull...

By JoshWilding - Jul 01, 2020 02:07 AM EST

Filed Under: Captain America: The First Avenger

Captain America: The First Avenger stuck closely to the comic books by pitting Steve Rogers against the Red Skull in his first World War II-set adventure. In the movie, we learned that Johann Schmidt had been left with that hideous appearance after taking HYDRA's version of the Super-Soldier Serum, but Marvel Studios explored another possible origin story for the character at one point.

As you can see, concept artist Ryan Meinerding has shared an early take on the Red Skull which reveals that using the power of the Tesseract is what would have led to his startling transformation.

Ultimately, Marvel Studios took things in a different direction and made it so that no one could really hold the Tesseract (unless they were particularly powerful beings like Loki and Thanos). This definitely would have been a cool idea to explore on screen, though, and fans remain optimistic that the villain will be brought back to the Marvel Cinematic Universe in the not too distant future following his surprise return in Avengers: Infinity War.

Check out this Captain America: The First Avenger concept art below:

View this post on Instagram

This is a very early idea for Red Skull from Captain America: The First Avenger. I was trying to show that the tesseract was actually changing him into Red Skull—that the light it gave off effected his skin and skull over time.

A post shared by Ryan Meinerding (@ryan_meinerding_art) on Jun 30, 2020 at 11:35am PDT

THE SHIFT Star Neal McDonough Talks Possible MCU Return As CAPTAIN AMERICA's Dum Dum Dugan (Exclusive)

Recommended For You:

STAR TREK: DISCOVERY Star Ethan Peck Reveals He Auditioned For Lead Role In CAPTAIN AMERICA: THE FIRST AVENGER

DISCLAIMER: ComicBookMovie.com is protected under the DMCA (Digital Millenium Copyright Act) and... [MORE]

ComicBookMovie.com, and/or the user who contributed this post, may earn commissions or revenue through clicks or purchases made through any third-party links contained within the content above.

Do you have what it takes to write for us?

Want to contribute?

6 Comments

dracula - 7/1/2020, 2:15 AM

Would have been interesting to see the transformation. Was a good take on Red Skull, but too bad he wasnt used more. I know he was originally going to be in the first Avengers movie before Joss Whedon came on board and completely rewrote the script. Id say that was for the best. Loki was enough. Although could have fit him in somewhere other than endgame and infinity war. Although great that we got resolution on his fate. Now if only we knew what happened to The Leader and Abomination

GhostDog - 7/1/2020, 3:16 AM

Overlord vibes.

I like this; at the very least I like the idea of his transforming and what that would’ve meant visually. But what we got fit the pulp vibe of the time period.

Origame - 7/4/2020, 11:50 AM

@BlackBeltJones - i was gonna say two face from the dark knight but i see where you're coming from.

Chewtoy - 7/1/2020, 4:53 AM

Kind of odd that it’s melting his face but not his hand.

MeindaBathRoomlol - 7/1/2020, 7:02 AM

Didnt Nick Fury hold it for awhile before he put it in a briefcase in the beginning of The Avengers?

Ray2407 - 7/1/2020, 8:53 AM

@MeindaBathRoomlol - I was just about to say that lol

CAPTAIN AMERICA: THE FIRST AVENGER Concept Art Reveals A Different Origin Story For The Red Skull

Some new Captain America: The First Avenger concept art reveals a completely different take on the origin story of the movie's villain and his transformation from Johann Schmidt into the Red Skull...

THE SHIFT Star Neal McDonough Talks Possible MCU Return As CAPTAIN AMERICA's Dum Dum Dugan (Exclusive)

STAR TREK: DISCOVERY Star Ethan Peck Reveals He Auditioned For Lead Role In CAPTAIN AMERICA: THE FIRST AVENGER

THE SHIFT Star Neal McDonough Talks Possible MCU Return As CAPTAIN AMERICA's Dum Dum Dugan (Exclusive)

STAR TREK: DISCOVERY Star Ethan Peck Reveals He Auditioned For Lead Role In CAPTAIN AMERICA: THE FIRST AVENGER

THE FALCON AND THE WINTER SOLDIER Star Sebastian Stan Recalls The Moment He Thought His Time As Bucky Was Over

THE SHIFT Star Neal McDonough Talks Possible MCU Return As CAPTAIN AMERICA's Dum Dum Dugan (Exclusive)

STAR TREK: DISCOVERY Star Ethan Peck Reveals He Auditioned For Lead Role In CAPTAIN AMERICA: THE FIRST AVENGER

THE FALCON AND THE WINTER SOLDIER Star Sebastian Stan Recalls The Moment He Thought His Time As Bucky Was Over

MARVEL CINEMATIC UNIVERSE: 13 Heartbreaking Scenes That Made Fans Cry

CAPTAIN AMERICA: THE FIRST AVENGER Nearly Featured A Battle With A Giant Red Skull-Controlled Robot

AVENGERS: ENDGAME And CAPTAIN AMERICA Writers Argue That MCU's Steve Rogers Is NOT A Virgin

Popular Headlines

SUPERMAN: James Gunn's DCU Reboot Finds Its Martha "Ma" Kent

Hollywood Producer Slams MADAME WEB Star Sydney Sweeney: "She's Not Pretty, She Can't Act"

MCU Rumor Roundup: Sydney Sweeney Joins The MCU, Thanos' Return, THE FANTASTIC FOUR's Setting, And More

JUSTICE LEAGUE Star Henry Cavill Takes A Shot At His Superman Return In BLACK ADAM's Post-Credits Scene

SUPERMAN Director James Gunn Shares New Behind-The-Scenes Photo With David Corenswet And Rachel Brosnahan

Leonardo DiCaprio Was In Talks To Play Lex Luthor In BVS; Gave Zack Snyder JUSTICE LEAGUE Idea

SUPERMAN Director James Gunn Shares New Behind-The-Scenes Photo With David Corenswet And Rachel Brosnahan

REBEL MOON R-Rated Director's Cut Will Include A Graphic Alien Sex Scene

Leonardo DiCaprio Was In Talks To Play Lex Luthor In BVS; Gave Zack Snyder JUSTICE LEAGUE Idea

SUPERMAN Director James Gunn Shares New Behind-The-Scenes Photo With David Corenswet And Rachel Brosnahan

REBEL MOON R-Rated Director's Cut Will Include A Graphic Alien Sex Scene

Steven Spielberg's Next Project Will Reportedly Be A UFO Movie Based On His Own Original Idea

X-MEN ORIGINS: WOLVERINE Star Kevin Durand Reveals Plans For The Blob In Scrapped Sequel

JUSTICE LEAGUE Director Zack Snyder Says He's "Pretty Excited" About James Gunn's DCU Plans

Hot Headlines

SUPERMAN: James Gunn's DCU Reboot Finds Its Martha "Ma" Kent

Hollywood Producer Slams MADAME WEB Star Sydney Sweeney: "She's Not Pretty, She Can't Act"

James Gunn’s SUPERMAN Casts Pruitt Taylor Vince To Play Pa Kent In The DCU's Inaugural Film

ANT-MAN: Michael Douglas Pushed For Hank Pym's Death In QUANTUMANIA; Suggests He's Now Done With The Role

SPIDER-MAN Director Sam Raimi Rumored To Be In Talks To Helm NO WAY HOME Sequel

Sci-Fi & Fantasy

REBEL MOON Director Zack Snyder Suggests He Has A Six-Movie Plan For Netflix's Sci-Fi Franchise

CLOSE ENCOUNTERS Director Steven Spielberg Reportedly Planning To Return To Sci-Fi Genre For His Next Movie

REBEL MOON Star Ed Skrein Has A Graphic Alien Sex Scene In R-Rated Extended Cut

Cartoons & Animated Features

SNOW WHITE Rumored Plot Details May Clear Up Seven Dwarfs/Seven Bandits Confusion

TRANSFORMERS ONE Trailer Reveals The Origins Of Optimus Prime And Megatron

X-MEN '97 Creative Express Interest In Bringing An X-MEN Animated Movie To Theaters

Gaming

Jack Black Seemingly Confirms Who He Will Be Playing In The Upcoming MINECRAFT Movie

TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES: SPLINTERED FATE Headed To Nintendo Switch This July

Ubisoft Responds To Backlash Over STAR WARS OUTLAWS Exclusive Season Pass "Jabba's Gambit" Mission

Anime & Manga

MY HERO ACADEMIA Season 7 Countdown Kicks Off With Class 1-A Character Visuals

GHOST IN THE SHELL 2: INNOCENCE Returning To Theaters With New 4K Restoration

Crunchyroll Announces Release Date For ONE PIECE Season 14 Voyage 15 English Dub

Horror

IMMACULATE Star Sydney Sweeney Has Been Slammed By A Hollywood Producer: "She's Not Pretty, She Can't Act"

SCREAM VII: Rumored Details On Sidney And Gale's Roles And Ghostface's Targets - SPOILERS

DEAD BOY DETECTIVES Showrunner Confirms Other SANDMAN Characters - Aside From Death - Will Appear

Action Movies & TV

JAMES BOND: Henry Cavill Isn't Closing The Door On Playing 007; "Maybe I'm Too Old Now. Maybe I'm Not..."

Alex Garland's CIVIL WAR Is The #1 Movie In North America- Opens To $25.7M

THE ACCOUNTANT 2 Adds Four More Actors Including JURASSIC WORLD Star Daniella Pineda

Pro Wrestling & MMA News

AEW EVPs Matt And Nick Jackson, The Young Bucks, Have "No Regrets" After Airing ALL IN Footage

Kurt Angle Reflects On What Went Wrong During Final WWE Run: "Fans Could Tell I Was Not The Same Wrestler"

AEW President Tony Khan Believes It "Made A Lot Of Sense" To Air ALL IN Backstage Footage On DYNAMITE

Sci-Fi & Fantasy

REBEL MOON Director Zack Snyder Suggests He Has A Six-Movie Plan For Netflix's Sci-Fi Franchise

CLOSE ENCOUNTERS Director Steven Spielberg Reportedly Planning To Return To Sci-Fi Genre For His Next Movie

REBEL MOON Star Ed Skrein Has A Graphic Alien Sex Scene In R-Rated Extended Cut

KINGDOM OF THE PLANET OF THE APES Star Kevin Durand Reveals New Details About "Narcissistic" Proximus Caesar

DOCTOR WHO Showrunner Russell T Davies Confirms "Timeless Child" Link And Explains Impact Of Bigger Budget

ANT-MAN Star Michael Douglas Doesn't Expect To Return To MCU; Wanted Hank Pym To Die In QUANTUMANIA

Cartoons & Animated Features

SNOW WHITE Rumored Plot Details May Clear Up Seven Dwarfs/Seven Bandits Confusion

TRANSFORMERS ONE Trailer Reveals The Origins Of Optimus Prime And Megatron

X-MEN '97 Creative Express Interest In Bringing An X-MEN Animated Movie To Theaters

X-MEN '97 Makes A Big Change To Opening Credits; Showrunner Reveals MAN OF STEEL Inspiration For [SPOILER]

X-MEN '97 Reveals The Fate Of Professor X, The Villain Behind Genosha Attack, And Storm's Future - SPOILERS

Disney's Goofy Was The Inspiration For The Terrifying Monsters In Nicolas Cage's New Horror Movie

Gaming

Jack Black Seemingly Confirms Who He Will Be Playing In The Upcoming MINECRAFT Movie

TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES: SPLINTERED FATE Headed To Nintendo Switch This July

Ubisoft Responds To Backlash Over STAR WARS OUTLAWS Exclusive Season Pass "Jabba's Gambit" Mission