Throughout this project, I’ve planned to create a series of posts where I keep returning to analyze something that interests me that’s too large to contain in one post.
Congratulations! This is the first one!
Star Wars posters have a rich history throughout the past 50 years: rereleases, character posters, posters from different countries – but for this post I’m going to focus on teaser posters. All of these (from my best knowledge) are the first posters released for each respective movie; A first glance at what audiences saw was up next in the Skywalker Saga.
THE ORIGINAL TRILOGY:
STAR WARS: Simplistic in design, this poster reveals almost nothing visually about Star Wars. Focused primarily on the text, it reveals to the audience that this will be an out of this world story (“from another galaxy”) and when it’s premiering (“this summer”). The logo is secondary to the bold text and is the same logo we see in the opening title of the film, rather than the more triangular version commonly used on merchandise in the 1970s. 3rd in the hierarchy there’s a text blurb giving both George Lucas’ resume of past films as well as a few variations of lines used in the teaser trailer from 1976. That’s it. There’s not even a cast list. and somehow this poster is absolutely iconic despite featuring almost nothing from the film itself.
EMPIRE STRIKES BACK: A still relatively simple poster design, but this time they chose to feature Darth Vader, looming over a star field & looking for his revenge. Easily the most iconic character from the original film, it was a no-brainer to feature him on the poster for the sequel: especially considering the emphasis on Empire in the title. The text “the Star Wars saga continues” is fully in a Star Wars title font, and below Vader we have unique The Empire Strikes Back logo. We even get a list of cast members, writers, director & producer, and even a credit for John William’s score indicating the overnight stardom of the cast is a pull for viewers in itself. And, of course, at the very bottom, we get a callback to the original teaser poster “coming to your galaxy this Summer”.
RETURN OF THE JEDI: This poster once again utilizes the iconic Vader helmet iconography, as well as the “The Saga Continues” line from the Empire Strikes back poster. However, the main color of the poster changed from black and white, to a deep red, and features a splash of blue & purple where we see a silhouette Luke and Vader in a lightsaber battle. This both calls back to the battle we see on Cloud City as well as an indication that we’ll see them meet once again. Most notably, this poster features the title “Revenge of the Jedi” since this poster was released in December of 1982. It wouldn’t be until January 27th, 1983 when Lucas would change his mind and retitle the film Return of the Jedi, citing the idea that Jedi wouldn’t take revenge.
THE PREQUEL TRILOGY:
THE PHANTOM MENACE: Quite possibly the most iconic Star Wars teaser poster, The Phantom Menace poster features Jake Lloyd as Anakin Skywalker on Tatooine. He’s the sole character featured on the poster and is overwhelmed by the sand and adobe home the audience immediately would recognize as Tatooine. Of course, we have yet another moment of Vader iconography. The dark shadow of Vader is looming over Anakin as a destiny that’s already been decided. We’re told in an instant that this trilogy will be the story of his fall to the dark and what lead him to become Darth Vader. Notably, the only text featured on this poster is a very small traditional Star Wars logo, and “Episode I”.
ATTACK OF THE CLONES: Reminiscent of both Yoda’s line from The Phantom Menace “Fear leads to anger, anger leads to hate, hate… leads to suffering” & the Jedi Code, this poster hints heavily at both the anger & hatred brewing in Anakin, as well as the romance blooming between Anakin & Padmé. It features silhouetted images of Hayden Christensen & Natalie Portman as Anakin & Padmé respectively, a teaser poster first showing clear images of the actors’ faces. There’s a heavy use of the color red, even changing Anakin’s lightsaber color reminding us once again of Anakin’s eventual destiny to become Darth Vader. Once again, there’s a small Star Wars logo and an even smaller “Episode II” at the bottom.
REVENGE OF THE SITH: Unsurprisingly, we once again have Vader imagery, this time in the form of Vader’s helmet hiding in Anakin’s black cape. Closer than ever before, looming over him, and indicating his destiny. Both a callback to The Phantom Menace poster as well as the Empire Strikes Back & Return of the Jedi posters where Vader is the largest featured icon. Hayden Christensen’s face is also partially featured, partially obscured by the edge of the poster. A small Star Wars logo & the text “Episode III” are barely visible at the bottom of the poster, the movie is iconic enough that it’s barely noticeable.
THE SEQUEL TRILOGY:
THE FORCE AWAKENS: Originally released as a D23 exclusive in 2015, this is the first poster featuring the characters in The Force Awakens (a previous version of the poster was simply the yellow logo on a black star field). It gave audiences an indication of the lead characters in the film: featuring Finn, Rey, Kylo Ren, & Han Solo seemingly taking on the mentor role for the film. The poster, illustrated by the legendary Drew Struzan, depicts X-Wings, TIE Fighters, and even moisture vaporators calling back to Tatooine (though we know now that this is Jakku). The influences from the Original Trilogy were obvious, both as a call back to the classic age of Star Wars and indicating we would be continuing the story we left off on in Return of the Jedi. It’s a classic callback to the posters of the 80s, while also bringing Star Wars into a new era.
THE LAST JEDI: Red: the primary color of The Last Jedi marketing and this teaser poster set the expectations for the bold statement the movie was going to make. In fact, the entire poster is printed in a duotone red & black except for the blue blade of the Skywalker Saber being held by Rey (reminiscent of Luke in one of the original Star Wars posters). The saber splits the poster down the middle, obscuring both Luke and Kylo’s faces, indicating the two sides of the Skywalker legacy and the decisions Rey will need to make in the film: will she choose Luke or Kylo, the light or the dark, look to the past or forge her own path?
THE RISE OF SKYWALKER: Highly reminiscent of the Return of the Jedi poster, we once again see our protagonist & antagonist engaged in a lightsaber battle with a figure looming over them. Instead of Vader or Kylo, however, we’re instead met with the face of none other than Emperor Palpatine. Revealed to be manipulating the Skywalker family & galaxy at large for his own personal gain, we see him indicated as the ultimate villain of the saga. He’s looming over both Rey and Kylo as they battle on the Death Star wreckage from The Battle of Endor. It’s hinted that Palpatine is their common enemy, and that they will need to face him together to secure peace and freedom for the galaxy.
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Jakku Journal 
