Yondu rules as Prince of the Sands in early Guardians concept art

Last Updated on July 31, 2021

Movies have a lot of variables that go through a lot of stages, from the script to the overall look of everything. During the course of production, the filmmakers often have to make sacrifices in order to make sure the final product is as good as it can be. For that, I say thank you to the people behind this GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY change because holy shit this first version of Yondu (Michael Rooker) would’ve looked so odd in the final movie.

Released via James Gunn’s Instagram account, the early concept art of Yondu shows him looking less like the badass Ravager he is and more like an ancient Egyptian ruler commanding people to build his temple.

Take a look!

Sweet early concept art for #Yondu in #GotG by Andrew Kim featuring a fantastic vision of @michael_rooker's abs.

A photo posted by James Gunn (@jamesgunn) on

Okay, I may be acting a bit harsh. If I’m being 100 percent honest, it does look kind of cool on its own, purely as a cool artist rendering of Yondu. However, in the context of the movie this couldn't have been more wrong a look. Yondu’s gritty look in the film helped bring the character to life, as well as established the uniform the other Ravagers (and Peter Quill himself) followed. Can you imagine the other Ravagers having to dress like this? I mean, if this were Ridley Scott’s EXODUS I could understand…

And are those gills on his face? Sorry, I'm just nitpicking now. Anyway, it appears the people who made the big decisions decided to go another route. For that, I'm thankful.

Yondu returns with his sweet new fin in GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY VOL. 2 on May 5, 2017.

Source: Instagram

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