In the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Chris Hemsworth’s Thor has had quite the adventure with his adopted brother Loki (Tom Hiddleston), but, as it turns out, the Odinson was originally poised to go into battle with his half-brother from the comics, Balder the Brave.
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According to Charlie Wen, the former head of visual development for Marvel Studios, Balder had a big role to play in the first movie, directed by Kenneth Branagh in 2011. Wen posted images of both warriors, clad in armor, fighting off what seems to be Frost Giants. We can see Balder wearing his signature purple colors, as well as his iconic helmet from the comics.
“Thor almost had Balder!! We were so close. Balder, Thor’s half brother, was in the script at one point, and had a pretty crucial role,” he captioned. “I painted this preliminary keyframe of him before finding out that he would be taken out of the film. Balder does add another layer of complexity to Thor’s relationships with Loki, and it was probably a good idea to have him taken out of the first film, but if there was more time to weave out a longer story arc, and Thor had an HBO or Netflix saga, Balder would be a must!”
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First appearing in 1962’s Journey Into Mystery #85 (October 1962), Balder was retconned from being an Asgardian warrior into one of Odin’s other sons, and someone who’d eventually rule the kingdom for a bit. His death was supposed to trigger Ragnarok, although the MCU went a different route with that story, instead using Hela as Thor’s half-sister and omitting Balder completely.