New Star Wars poster lands, with clues about The Force Awakens

By David Nield Updated October 18, 2015

star wars the force awakens end credits shot

What you see here is the brand new poster for Star Wars: The Force Awakens, the seventh movie in the ever-expanding franchise. It appears that it has not been created by Drew Struzan, the man responsible for the posters for the prequels and the special edition re-releases, though it definitely follows a similar aesthetic. What can it tell us about the upcoming film?

There’s lots to explore here, from old faces like Han (Harrison Ford) and Leia (Carrie Fisher) to newcomers including Rey (Daisley Ridley), Finn (John Boyega) and the sinister-looking Kylo Ren (Adam Driver). The droids are out in force too: R2-D2 (Kenny Baker), C-3PO (Anthony Daniels) and BB-8 all make an appearance as well, and the good side of the Force is further represented by Chewbacca (Peter Mayhew) and Poe Dameron (Oscar Isaac). Have you spotted the big omission yet?

Star Wars poster

That’s right — no Luke Skywalker (played by Mark Hamill). Does this mean Luke’s not going to feature in the action very much at all? Or would his visual appearance give away too much of the film’s plot? What’s more, we haven’t seen much of Mark Hamill in the trailers for the movie — though he did provide a brief voiceover. Whatever the reason for not including his character on the poster, it’s bound to spark off plenty of speculation between now and the December 18 release date.

There are other mysteries in the poster: What’s that Death Star-esque weapon up in the top right-hand corner? Who’s the strange alien creature just to the left of R2-D2? Whatever’s in store in JJ Abram’s latest sci-fi blockbuster, it’s difficult to fault the style and flair of this poster.

Tomorrow’s going to be another big day for Star Wars fans: the final trailer for the movie is scheduled to appear tomorrow (during halftime in ESPN’s Monday Night football for those in the U.S.) and it’s also rumored to be the first day that you can register for tickets to see The Force Awakens.

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Dave is a freelance journalist from Manchester in the north-west of England. He's been writing about technology since the…

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