Since the release of J.J. Abrams' massively successful Star Wars: The Force Awakens, there has been a Star Wars renaissance and resurgence of fandom. With Disney now controlling the franchise, we can expect a new film to dominate theaters every December. In addition to the chapters of the sequel trilogy, we'll also be getting standalone films which will help further expand the galaxy far, far away and bring us back to characters that had been long gone in the main narrative. The first of these is Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, which will fly into theaters this coming December.
The folks who are marketing Rogue One are doing a pretty phenomenal job at keeping the future audience excited and hungry for more, while also not revealing too much in regards to the movie's plot. But one artist has taken the marketing in a more classic direction. Namely, they made an image for the movie which closely resembles a Stanley Kubrick helmed movie poster. Check it out below via Poster Possey (extra points if you get the reference):
Pretty awesome, right? Although certainly more simplistic than the official poster, this ode to Kubrick actually makes me even more excited for Rogue One to finally hit theaters in December.
For those who don't know, the above posters are a not so subtle tribute to the poster for Stanley Kubrick's Full Metal Jacket. That poster featured a more realistic helmet used during the Vietnam War. The text on the helmets is also very similar, with the 1987 movie poster reading "Born To Kill", rather than "Born To Rebel". And while these two movies couldn't be more different, they both focus on a seemingly endless war that will (presumably) take the lives of its main characters.
For reference, check out the Full Metal Jacket poster below, and enjoy the great reference even more.
As you can see, artist Orlando Arocena's Star Wars version of the Full Metal Jacket poster is pretty damn faithful to the original. Except it's Star Wars so it's automatically way more cool.
Part of what makes the Star Wars version of this poster so awesome is iconography. Rather than using equipment and helmets which might be newly introduced in Rogue One, Orlando Arocena uses some of the more famous rebel helmets. And for the good guys, you can't get much more iconic than the X-Wing helmet, as well as the one used during their adventures on Endor in Return of the Jedi. I feel like many Star Wars fans have probably seen Full Metal Jacket, so this seems like the perfect storm of nerdness for film buffs.
The fan made Rogue One poster is quite different from the official one. Rather than a simple design, the first poster for Rogue One: A Star Wars Story is rather elaborate and visually stunning. We are shown pretty much everything we want to see: The Death Star, tons of troops, and a new beach setting. And while I think the real poser is far more satisfying and exciting for fans of the franchise, there's still something I love about the simplistic design inspired by Full Metal Jacket.
Take a look at the real poster below.
Which poster strikes your fancy the most? Do you like all of the action shown in the official image, or should the marketers done something a bit more abstract for the first spinoff movie of the franchise? Sound off in the comments below.
Rogue One: A Star Wars Story will fly into theaters on December 16th.
