Before Disney bought Lucasfilm, Mark Hamill was keeping the Galaxy Far Far Away alive, and since his return as Luke Skywalker he hasn’t stopped, with his Twitter presence a constant joy for Star Wars fans everywhere. Today he shared some prototype posters for the original Star Wars film, which–along with his thoughts–are a total riot.
POSTER CONCEPTS-I could never explain #StarWars to friends before it was released-Here’s a few early ideas the marketers considered:
A) Did kids know who Flash & Buck were in ’77?
B) Wordy explanation
C/D) A Vision Of A Movie That Must Be Seen To Understand pic.twitter.com/fEophzh5lC— Mark Hamill (@HamillHimself) May 26, 2018
Besides being pretty funny, the posters are a great example of how much has changed in Hollywood and film marketing from over the last 41 years. The classic poster art Hamill shared relies heavily on exposition, and works with an expectation that the audience probably has no idea what a science-fiction film looks like. Of course, things couldn’t be more different now, and posters are often focused on nothing other than the stars or characters that feature in them. We also live in a world of pop culture saturation, where most blockbusters are being adapted from already known quantities, rather than those from original spec scripts that are seen as almost certain failures by their studios–as Star Wars was in 1977 by 20th Century Fox.
The one thing the posters share with modern marketing is the idea of a meta nod or reference to a similar property, which is a tactic still utilized by studios today. Though sadly we don’t see as many great posters that attempt to world-build an entire fictional universe on a one sheet!
Do you have a favorite Star Wars poster? Just love following Mark on Twitter? Let us know below!
Images: 20th Century Fox
More Star Wars news!
- Is hyperspace actually easier than dusting crops?
- Young Han Solo gets a new Hot Toy.
- Kelsey Grammer missed his chance to be in Star Wars.
