Ray Chan, the Marvel Studios art director and production designer who helped guardians of the galaxythree Avengers movies, upcoming Deadpool and Wolverine and more, died. He was 56 years old.
Chan died near his home in Wales on Tuesday, his family said. No cause of death has been released.
“Ray was truly one of the best, in so many ways,” they said. “He had an exuberance for life, which was tragically cut short and will be greatly missed.” He loved his career and lived a rich and wonderful life, and his memory will live on through all those he knew and the films he helped make.
Chan served as supervising art director on Thor: The Dark World (2013), guardians of the galaxy (2014), Doctor Strange (2016) and the Avengers movies Age of Ultron (2015), Infinity War (2018) and End of Game (2019).
He was also artistic director on Spider-Man: Far From Home (2019) and production designer on the 2021 miniseries The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves (2023) and that of Shawn Levy Deadpool and Wolverinewhich stars Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman and hits theaters in July.
“He was an equally valuable creative force on Deadpool and Wolverine as writers, directors and stars”, Reynolds said on social networks.
“I don’t pretend to know every chapter of Ray’s heart, but I do know that it is unusual to meet someone with such artistic prowess who has simultaneously traveled the world with such indelible humanity.
“He built worlds from the ground up – and did it in the most collaborative and inclusive way. Ray was second to none. He will be missed by many people, but especially his family.
“The last time I saw Ray was exactly two weeks ago. One of [the] The last thing I told him was that he does magic and there’s no one on Earth like him. He and I would also do a lot of good-natured bullshit to each other. So…of all the last things you could say to someone you adore, this is one small piece of consolation that I will hold on to forever.
Levy said: “Ray did more than design the world of our film; he illuminated the world around him. Truly, everyone who knew Ray, or was lucky enough to work with him as we did, experienced this beacon of a man: kind, warm, tenaciously dedicated and relentlessly inspiring – Ray worked and lived with a joyful and contagious humanity that is rare. »
The eldest of three children of Hong Kong immigrants, Raymond Chan was born on December 1, 1967 in Oldham, Greater Manchester. His mother was a machinist and his father was a bus driver. He completed a degree in graphic design at the Liverpool School of Art, then moved to London to join Kingston Art College’s new postgraduate Masters in Film and Television programme.
After graduating and working as a butcher, Chan served as an art department assistant on The secret kidnapping (1993), he was then principal designer on The Pirates (1995). He then worked on other films, including…
