Lucasfilm has released the final theatrical poster for Star Wars: The Force Awakens, and we have got to talk about it.
Let's get the business out of the way first. The poster was just released today, and it's the final one you'll see accompanying the film in theaters when it arrives on December 18. Tomorrow night during Monday Night Football on ESPN (let's hear it for Disney corporate synergy) will be the world premiere of the new, full-length (and likely final) trailer. So get ready to see more of The Force Awakens than you've seen yet. Lastly, tickets go on sale tomorrow at various theaters all over the world.
Okay, now that that's taken care of... Let's dive into the poster. (Beware of potential spoilers ahead.)
The first thing that jumps out at you is the prominent placement of Daisy Ridley's character Rey, who's positioned front and center. She's got that bo staff going on like she knows how to use it (and I still think the ends look like lightsaber hilts). Adam Driver's villain Kylo Ren is by far the biggest figure on the poster, taking up the entire top left corner. It's no coincidence that his lightsaber blade is placed so perfectly aside Rey's staff.
John Boyega's Finn is on the right, and isn't it interesting how the poster is carefully composited as not to reveal what his lightsaber's hilt looks like? (Rumor has it, he comes into possession of Luke Skywalker's original lightsaber that he lost on Bespin.) In the center of the poster is a collage of characters that include Han Solo, Princess Leia, Chewbacca, Poe Dameron, Captain Phasma, a pair of her Stormtroopers, and our three heroic droids. That little alien guy between BB-8 and R2-D2 is a Jakku scavenger named Teedo. And there are a selection of starships included, too.
Perhaps more noteworthy than who gets facetime on the poster is who doesn't: Luke Skywalker is nowhere in sight. Despite this, Mark Hamill gets second billing in the credits, right behind Harrison Ford. Hm.
The biggest revelation is the orb-shaped weapon at the top right of the poster. This can only be the Starkiller, the First Order's massive weapon that's believed to be capable of destroying entire solar systems. Yes, the design is a bit of a riff on the Death Star, but methinks there's more to it than that. We know that the First Order is headquartered in an installment called Starkiller Base, which is situated on a snowy ice planet. Starkiller Base is no doubt where this huge new weapon is controlled from.
What if Starkiller Base's icy world and the Starkiller weapon are one and the same? In other words: What if this entire planet has been altered, retrofit with the solar system-killing weapon built into it? That's a mind-boggling thought, but it seems like just the kind of thing J.J. Abrams would think up.
Stay tuned to T-Lounge for much more on Star Wars: The Force Awakens. We'll bring you the trailer immediately after it's posted online.
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