It's hard to believe 2022 will mark the 10th anniversary of The Avengers. Despite being nowhere near as grand in scale as movies like Avengers: Endgame and even the upcoming Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, it broke new ground in 2012 by assembling characters fans never thought they would see share the screen (in a team-up many believed wouldn't work).
The Avengers also introduced fans to a live-action take on the S.H.I.E.L.D. Helicarrier, which blew minds at the time. Now, Marvel Studios concept artist Phil Saunders has shared a never before seen design for that iconic warship. It's not vastly different to what ended up on screen, but definitely a little less grounded and perhaps a tad more "sci-fi" than what we saw in the movie.
"I don’t think I’ve ever posted this one anywhere, so it’s a bit of a premiere. As with the other views I’ve posted, this was an alternate direction to the one that my friends Nathan Schroeder and Steve Jung were pursuing for Production Designer James Chinlund that ultimately was what you saw in the films," he explains in the Instagram post below. "Mine was more of an aviation-based design, taking cues from heavy lifter aircraft such as the Globemaster and Antonov."
We always enjoy getting a glimpse of what might have been, and it's a shame we haven't seen a Helicarrier since 2015's Avengers: Age of Ultron. S.H.I.E.L.D. is no more, of course, but it would be cool to learn that Nick Fury has still one somewhere when he returns in Disney+'s Secret Invasion.
Check out this new concept art from The Avengers below: