New 'Avengers: Infinity War' concept reveals intriguing deleted scene

Marvel Studios concept artist Pete Thompson has uploaded loads of new artwork used behind the scenes on Avengers: Infinity War to his website.

One particular piece of art shows a key scene was nearly very different to what we saw in the finished film.

Spoilers for Avengers: Infinity War follow.

One of the best Infinity War twists came when the Guardians travelled to the Collector’s base on Knowhere to try to take the Reality Stone back from the rogue eccentric.

Upon arriving, they witness the Collector under the boot of Thanos as the purple villain tortures their weird pal. Drax decides to take action, attacking the Mad Titan to avenge his family (a plan that doesn’t go well).

Thanos then demonstrates he already has the Reality Stone (and we see the Collector is already dead) and he’s tricked the Guardians into revealing themselves.

It’s a cool scene, but it could’ve been even cooler if new concept art is to be believed.

It shows The Collector facing off against Thanos. And, judging by Benicio Del Toro’s previous performances in the Guardians movies, we’ve probably missed out on a compelling (and odd) exchange.

Still, if the moment had been included, it might have taken away from the impact of the final film’s twist, giving the game away long before the Guardians arrived.

But there’s another possibility – one that’s even more intriguing.

If recent comments from Del Toro are to be believed, the Collector could still be alive. “I think he’s alive. Yeah… I think that, you know, I think he’s alive. You’re talking to him!” the actor told CinemaBlend.

How could that be possible if we saw him die onscreen in Infinity War?

But we didn’t, really – technically everything in that sequence could have been an illusion, which means the Collector could still be alive out there somewhere.

So, maybe we’ll still see the Collector popping up to have this face-off with Thanos in Avengers 4.

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