Could Sidewinder have looked even cooler? Newly released concept art for Captain America: Brave New World shows off an early take on Giancarlo Espostio’s villain.
There was a lot of wasted potential in Captain America: Brave New World. From underutilizing characters like Isaiah Bradley to confusing villain choices. However, perhaps the biggest point of missed potential that fans point to is Giancarlo Esposito’s Sidewinder. Fans have been begging for the actor to join the MCU for years, but his character was ultimately relegated to a run-of-the-mill assassin with a small role in the overall story.
Yet it seems that wasn’t always the plan. Michael Uwandi recently took to social media to show off some early concept art from Captain America: Brave New World. While the design does come from before Giancarlo Esposito was officially cast as Sidewinder, it does give fans a look at a much more reptilian direction for the villain.
The Original Plan For Giancarlo Esposito’s Sidewinder
The reason Sidewinder looks so different in this concept art is because the villain originally had a much different power set in Captain America: Brave New World. Michael explains in the caption that this was meant to be the “first phase” of the character which integrated nano tattoos. However, by the time Giancarlo Esposito was brought on, plans had already changed.
“Serpent Society for Captain America Brave New World. Very early iteration of nano tattoos. The snake skin mask was the idea of a “first phase” transformation for the characters. This was the first take on Side Winder before the actor was cast. The actor ultimately ended up being Giancarlo Esposito.”
This concept art seems to come from one of the later drafts of the film. Originally, Sidewinder and the Serpent Society were meant to be augmented by Zeke Stane leading into the events of Captain America: Brave New World. It seems as though, by the time Giancarlo Esposito was brought on board, it was too late to add in any elements beyond a simple gun and generic jacket.
Captain America: Brave New World is now streaming on Disney Plus. Stay tuned for the latest news regarding the future of the Marvel Cinematic Universe and make sure to subscribe to our YouTube channel for more content!
