This week, you're going to be hearing a lot about director James Wan's Fast & Furious 7 - or as it's now known, Furious 7. Yesterday morning, Universal Pictures announced a special marketing campaign leading up to the debut of the the film's first trailer this Saturday, and presumably each day will see the debut of a new promo. Today it's taking the form of the movie's first teaser poster, which you can see below:
If you're as big a fan of the cars in the Fast & Furious franchise as you are of the lead actors, then this poster is made for you. Rather than focusing on stars Vin Diesel, Paul Walker, Dwayne Johnson, or Michelle Rodriguez, this design puts them far in the background and instead lets the car and the film's title take the spotlight. It's a nice little tease, and a good response to the star-stocked banner that premiered online yesterday.
As much as I like this new poster stylistically, it does bring up an opportunity to discuss the film's less-than-great tagline, "Vengeance hits home." Logically, I understand that the "Vengeance" is in reference to Jason Statham's character, Ian Shaw, wanting revenge for the death of his brother in Fast & Furious 6; and the "hits home" part is probably alluding the fact that the setting of the movie is brought back to Los Angeles after a number of the previous sequels went to international locations. But let me ask this question: when does vengeance not hit home? Isn't the entire concept of vengeance always personal? I understand that it's trying to make a pun, but puns don't work when the most basic interpretation is meaningless.
In addition to the trailer launch on Saturday, Universal Pictures will also be hosting a special live event online with stars Vin Diesel, Michelle Rodriguez, Jordana Brewster, Tyrese Gibson, Chris 'Ludacris' Bridges, and Jason Statham all taking and answering fan questions. If you have a question for the cast and want the chance to see it answered on the air, all you have to do is record a video of yourself, and post it on Instagram with the hashtag #AskFurious7. Hosted at Universal Studios in Los Angeles, the broadcast is set to begin at 12pm PST/3pm EST.
Stay tuned for more of our Furious 7 coverage throughout the rest of the week, and be sure to be here on Saturday when the trailer launches!
