'Captain America: Civil War' Concept Art Reveals That Ant-Man Was Once Team Iron Man

By Jacob HallAug. 23, 2016 10:00 am EST

Captain America: Civil War is a film filled with many pleasures, but that massive superhero brawl at the airport remains the main highlight all these months later. And within that massive superhero brawl, Paul Rudd's Ant-Man (and his brief transformation into the towering Giant Man) continues to stand out from the crowd. You may have left the theater excited for the new Spider-Man movie, but I could only start wondering when Ant-Man and the Wasp would hit theaters (the answer is July 6, 2018, for the record).

However, newly revealed concept art shows us that Ant-Man's role in the film was, at one time, going to be a bit different. While he fights on the side of Captain America in the final film, it appears that he was once on the side of Tony Stark in the conflict.

The art was originally shared on Twitter by Andy Park, a concept artist and visual development supervisor for Marvel Studios. As you can see, the image depicts an alternate version of the film where Scott Lang and Steve Rogers trade blows.

An early keyframe painting I did for #CaptainAmericaCivilWar #Antman #Giantman vs. #CaptainAmerica Whaa?? pic.twitter.com/ZU6DD2rGvk

— Andy Park (@andyparkart) August 22, 2016

I have no direct window into the early development of Captain America: Civil War, but it's easy to imagine everyone involved in the making of the film sitting down and brainstorming all kinds of different superhero match-ups. Which heroes should fight one another? Which combination of powers would be the most fun? Who has the proper motivation to be on each team and how can they bounce off of one another, both literally and figuratively? In any case, the idea of Ant-Man being on Team Iron Man was apparently around long enough to inspire some art, even if the final film took things in a different direction.

And I'm glad they did! First, Scott Lang's fanboy reaction to meeting Captain America provides the biggest laugh in a movie that is already full of humor. Second, it appeals to the continuity nerd in me, since it was Cap's buddy the Falcon who first encountered Ant-Man. Third, Ant-Man/Giant Man being on Team Captain America means that we got to see Tom Holland's Spider-Man take him down while referencing The Empire Strikes Back. Plus, Giant Man gives Captain America's side a serious heavy-hitter on the level of Iron Man or Vision. It all balances out!

Anyway, Captain America: Civil War is set to arrive on Blu-ray and DVD on September 13, 2016. Hopefully, we'll learn a little more about how the various teams were put together somewhere in the special features.