Marketing for Episode VIII

Use this thread to discuss your thought on the possible poster, teasers, and trailers for Episode VIII!

I think the official poster will be quite telling- I mean it kinda has to since the posters for Star Wars are so iconic and long lasting well after the initial release.  A flat out misdirect will not allow that.

However, just like the TFA poster there is going to be some wiggle room before the plot is well known where anyone and everyone will be able to claim that it proves their theory.  Unless of course we get some more straight up Gone with the Wind poses (and with the way certain fans already cannot see what is in front of their faces, not even then) will it be super clear.

Tbh, I think that Rey and Kylo are going to be the giant heads in the poster again.  Probably equal size,  but mirroring each other somehow.  With the other characters below them.  And hopefully with another one of those glowing orbs between them. So not super obviously romantic, but you know what the main relationship is.

This is more what I want :


Or



But it will probably look more like this, lol

How prominently do people think Luke will be featured? The hype has been built because he was barely in TFA, but they're also going to want to make it clear that the primary conflict is between Rey and Kylo. I can see Finn and KMT's character being paired pretty closely too, whether she ends up being his love interest or not. John's been speaking so highly of her in interviews, she must be significant for Finn's arc.

I was joking awhile back that the only major American corporation at this point which hasn't done any tie in products yet was Trojan. But who knows depending on what happens in IX.

While I don't see Rey and Ren in a Han/Leia type pose ala Gone With The Wind, I do see them to be the most prominent characters on the poster.  I also see them close to each other, yet their positioning will be ambiguous as to how their relationship will progress moving forward.  I wouldn't be surprised if he's unmasked (scar and all), and they're staring each other straight in the eyes with looks of both love and hate.

Third wheel Luke can be looking on at them both with an equally ambiguous expression.

I do see Reylo as the IAmYourFather moment in this trilogy, so I don't think they're going to give it away on the poster.

Still, it's tradition to put a traditional romantic pairing on the poster.  Cue Finn and KMT, albeit much smaller compared to Rey and Ren's positioning.

BastilaBey wrote:How prominently do people think Luke will be featured? The hype has been built because he was barely in TFA, but they're also going to want to make it clear that the primary conflict is between Rey and Kylo. I can see Finn and KMT's character being paired pretty closely too, whether she ends up being his love interest or not. John's been speaking so highly of her in interviews, she must be significant for Finn's arc.

@BastilaBey

I think Luke will be central like Han was on the TFA poster, but smaller than Rey and Kylo, who I expect to be the most prominent size-wise and in terms of catching the audience's eye. I think Finn, Poe and KMT's character will be clustered together. I'm hoping Rey and Kylo will be in some kind of intimate crossed lightsaber pose that could be interpreted either as adversarial or something else... Kind of like the Starkiller cliff edge shot but even more so!

BastilaBey wrote:How prominently do people think Luke will be featured? The hype has been built because he was barely in TFA, but they're also going to want to make it clear that the primary conflict is between Rey and Kylo. I can see Finn and KMT's character being paired pretty closely too, whether she ends up being his love interest or not. John's been speaking so highly of her in interviews, she must be significant for Finn's arc.

@BastilaBey
Now that I think about it I could easily see the centre image being Luke (biggest image) with Kylo and Rey on his left and right staring at each other, maybe the island in the background. And obviously Finn and Kelly somewhere too.

FrolickingFizzgig wrote:

BastilaBey wrote:How prominently do people think Luke will be featured? The hype has been built because he was barely in TFA, but they're also going to want to make it clear that the primary conflict is between Rey and Kylo. I can see Finn and KMT's character being paired pretty closely too, whether she ends up being his love interest or not. John's been speaking so highly of her in interviews, she must be significant for Finn's arc.

@BastilaBey
Now that I think about it I could easily see the centre image being Luke (biggest image) with Kylo and Rey on his left and right staring at each other, maybe the island in the background. And obviously Finn and Kelly somewhere too.

@FrolickingFizzgig

Would they really make Luke the biggest image, though? Han didn't get that level of prominence and he was a massive part of TFA. I personally think Rey has to be bigger and more prominent, she's the main character after all. Kylo will probably be of equal size again, although his was the biggest image on the TFA poster.

FrolickingFizzgig wrote:

BastilaBey wrote:How prominently do people think Luke will be featured? The hype has been built because he was barely in TFA, but they're also going to want to make it clear that the primary conflict is between Rey and Kylo. I can see Finn and KMT's character being paired pretty closely too, whether she ends up being his love interest or not. John's been speaking so highly of her in interviews, she must be significant for Finn's arc.

@BastilaBey
Now that I think about it I could easily see the centre image being Luke (biggest image) with Kylo and Rey on his left and right staring at each other, maybe the island in the background. And obviously Finn and Kelly somewhere too.

@FrolickingFizzgig

I think Luke might be larger, as well, since he is such a legendary, mystical character. To have him small would seem strange. Rey thought he was a myth, so he's basically mythological. I wonder if Luke and Snoke possibly could loom large in the background? there are parallels between the two. It might be interesting. I could be wrong though.

jakkusun wrote:

FrolickingFizzgig wrote:

BastilaBey wrote:How prominently do people think Luke will be featured? The hype has been built because he was barely in TFA, but they're also going to want to make it clear that the primary conflict is between Rey and Kylo. I can see Finn and KMT's character being paired pretty closely too, whether she ends up being his love interest or not. John's been speaking so highly of her in interviews, she must be significant for Finn's arc.

@BastilaBey
Now that I think about it I could easily see the centre image being Luke (biggest image) with Kylo and Rey on his left and right staring at each other, maybe the island in the background. And obviously Finn and Kelly somewhere too.

@FrolickingFizzgig

I think Luke might be larger, as well, since he is such a legendary, mystical character. To have him small would seem strange. Rey thought he was a myth, so he's basically mythological. I wonder if Luke and Snoke possibly could loom large in the background? there are parallels between the two. It might be interesting. I could be wrong though.

@jakkusun

I could see them positioning Luke over Rey's shoulder and Snoke over Kylo's, but it would surely send out the wrong message (to some fans who already struggle with the idea that Luke isn't going to be the lead character) if Luke completely overshadowed Rey in terms of size and prominence on the poster.

I see Luke as being medium sized, compared to other characters on the poster. If we look at Han and Leia on the TFA poster, that's pretty much what I expect in terms of size. He certainly won't be as big as Rey and Ren, although I expect him to be positioned near them.

For reference:


I think it'll be more like:

Mrs Ben Solo wrote:

jakkusun wrote:

FrolickingFizzgig wrote:

BastilaBey wrote:How prominently do people think Luke will be featured? The hype has been built because he was barely in TFA, but they're also going to want to make it clear that the primary conflict is between Rey and Kylo. I can see Finn and KMT's character being paired pretty closely too, whether she ends up being his love interest or not. John's been speaking so highly of her in interviews, she must be significant for Finn's arc.

@BastilaBey
Now that I think about it I could easily see the centre image being Luke (biggest image) with Kylo and Rey on his left and right staring at each other, maybe the island in the background. And obviously Finn and Kelly somewhere too.

@FrolickingFizzgig

I think Luke might be larger, as well, since he is such a legendary, mystical character. To have him small would seem strange. Rey thought he was a myth, so he's basically mythological. I wonder if Luke and Snoke possibly could loom large in the background? there are parallels between the two. It might be interesting. I could be wrong though.

@jakkusun

I could see them positioning Luke over Rey's shoulder and Snoke over Kylo's, but it would surely send out the wrong message (to some fans who already struggle with the idea that Luke isn't going to be the lead character) if Luke completely overshadowed Rey in terms of size and prominence on the poster.

@Mrs Ben Solo
Luke is still going to be the main draw for a lot of fans, even if he isn't the main character. Kylo already overshadowed Rey in size on the TFA poster. He takes up more than a third of it on his own, but nobody's saying he's the main character. I can see Luke being positioned more like that, as a "figure" more than a major protagonist. It actually sends a different message if you think about it, as though he is "above" the other characters, not really part of the younger generation.

I agree with @frolickingfizzgig that the island will be in the picture - probably in the background. But I think Luke will be smaller than Kylo and Rey, and he will be physically placed between them (along with a lens flare, lol) because from the rumors we've heard, it seems he will be playing a role of contention between the two. He is going to tell Rey that she must kill Kylo, and she being the heroine of the story will have to make her own choice even if it goes against her mentor's advice.

So what I'm imagining is Ahch-To filling up the background (won't that be pretty?), with Resistance/First Order fighters on the sides, Kylo and Rey in the center and bigger than everyone else, with Luke between them. Finn and KMT will be positioned near each other and I wouldn't be surprised if they're shown riding the space horse together on the poster.

Well, going by Celebration poster, which was 1/2 Episode VIII (Luke), 1/2 R1, Luke may not be more prominent than Rey and Kylo. Han certainly wasn't:



Rey and Kylo are the biggest (villain is always the biggest image, see Vader on OT posters), Luke and Finn are equal size and Poe is the smallest as he should be. 

TFA - Han isn't the most prominent figure:



Rey, Kylo and Finn are more prominent as they should be.

Now, if they want to shatter 50 Shades Darker trailer view record, Kylo better be unmasked. His unmasking is arguably the most watched SW gif ever. 

But yes, I expect Finntran to be very prominent.

I'm not sure which comes first, trailer or poster? If the trailer is first, I would expect some partial reveal of unmasked Kylo, half in shadow and half in light, depending on when they want to reveal his scarred face. They could have him unmasked in (unscarred side) profile on the poster to keep the full scar reveal for the movie.

The difference in the FA poster by its self compared to the previous Star Wars films is cool! literally split down the middle, one side red, one side blue!

Mrs Ben Solo wrote:I'm not sure which comes first, trailer or poster? If the trailer is first, I would expect some partial reveal of unmasked Kylo, half in shadow and half in light, depending on when they want to reveal his scarred face. They could have him unmasked in (unscarred side) profile on the poster to keep the full scar reveal for the movie.

@Mrs Ben Solo

Great question. I didn't follow any of the pre-TFA marketing so I don't know. I do remember the first trailer was aired here during a pro football game in mid-september. There were jokes going around that it was the first time nerds tuned in to watch football.

Heck, I wasn't even aware they were making a new Star Wars film until two days before that trailer aired! My husband loves football, so it all worked out and I got to see it...

Like Daisy, Kelly has lovely voice:



Antis who say she isn't hot have no taste. Look at her! Finntran is going to be huge. We'll have to open a special section for Finntran once it blows up.

vaderito wrote:Like Daisy, Kelly has lovely voice:



Antis who say she isn't hot have no taste. Look at her! Finntran is going to be huge. We'll have to open a special section for Finntran once it blows up.

@vaderito

She is super cute!! Like a fairy! very very pretty and I can't wait to see where they go with Finn and Tran if they go anywhere of course

Mrs Ben Solo wrote:

jakkusun wrote:

FrolickingFizzgig wrote:

BastilaBey wrote:How prominently do people think Luke will be featured? The hype has been built because he was barely in TFA, but they're also going to want to make it clear that the primary conflict is between Rey and Kylo. I can see Finn and KMT's character being paired pretty closely too, whether she ends up being his love interest or not. John's been speaking so highly of her in interviews, she must be significant for Finn's arc.

@BastilaBey
Now that I think about it I could easily see the centre image being Luke (biggest image) with Kylo and Rey on his left and right staring at each other, maybe the island in the background. And obviously Finn and Kelly somewhere too.

@FrolickingFizzgig

I think Luke might be larger, as well, since he is such a legendary, mystical character. To have him small would seem strange. Rey thought he was a myth, so he's basically mythological. I wonder if Luke and Snoke possibly could loom large in the background? there are parallels between the two. It might be interesting. I could be wrong though.

@jakkusun

I could see them positioning Luke over Rey's shoulder and Snoke over Kylo's, but it would surely send out the wrong message (to some fans who already struggle with the idea that Luke isn't going to be the lead character) if Luke completely overshadowed Rey in terms of size and prominence on the poster.

@Mrs Ben Solo



I take back what I said about how Luke can't be small. Luke is really small here, so I guess it wouldn't be that weird at all, and is very likely. (And I see vaderito brought this up already while I was drafting this haha)





The largest characters aren't always the main characters, though. The ones looming large in the background are usually villains or great forces of nature/threats/goals or destinations, I think. (Which is why I thought having Luke in that place would be cool and newish, and also put him in a sort of unchanging place--he's not the main character who evolves, but rather a great force in the narrative who shapes the protagonists and story, he's become unrelatable and distant) There are other ways to draw attention and convey importance of main characters besides size, too. --and this is basically what you said I think haha

What is interesting to me on the Celebration poster...it looks like Kylo is looking up, he is more in the blue with little red and there seems to be rain falling on him. He, Rey and Luke are in their own little bubble...
Is this hinting the possible redemption arc is beginning?

I was so bored by the Poe & Finn show, I keep forgetting that there are going to be other subplots in VIII besides "can we just hurry up and get to the island in order to find out what happened at Luke's dodgy charter school and then proceed to the Jedi Ikea Test?!" Which means, wonder if they'll include Laura Dern & Benecio del Toro on the poster.

1. I think Snoke's head will be a huge shadowy outline right at the top of the poster, with stars, X-wings and TIE lighters dotting his head like a crown. This part of the poster will be dark blue-black.

2. Rey and Kylo will be standing below him. They are the most prominent, are holding lightsabers and staring at one another. This makes it unclear whether Snoke is the cause of their confrontation, or whether they are now allies/LIs.

3. On the lower left, Finn and KMT will be on space horse, with KMT turning her head back and looking as if they're about to kiss.

4. Luke will be standing on the lower right hand corner looking back as if to show his dilemma whether to return or not.

5. The bottom of the poster will be red- orange crowded battle scene between resistance and FO and we can see small images of Leia, Poe, Phasma, Hux, BDT and Laura Dern's character (these 6 appearing is optional since they might crowd up the poster).

@snufkin
Your charter school comments are hilarious.  My children went to the infamous charter school being featured in the bay area news off and on because of the D.A investigating them for fraud and abuse issues with foreign nationals.  I spent a good part of the last six months fighting to change the governance of our Children's school to no avail.  My children are happily deposited in their neighborhood school.  
Maybe this is why Kylo went to the dark side....Luke wasn't a good Charter School Manager....