Star Wars: The Marketing Strikes Back

Manuel here. I have been trying to steer clear of the Star Wars hype machine. I’m an avid fan as you all know so I don’t need to obsess over every extra footage trying to glean what this latest installment will be about. Alas, while catching James Bond: The Winter Soldier ahem, I mean Spectre, I caught that latest trailer after all. And while a trailer, as we all know, is by no means indicative of quality, I have to say I am very much eager to revisit this galaxy far far away. 

Abrams did a great job jump starting Star Trek and while Lucas's characters and stories are quite literally of a different world, the emphasis on practical effects and simple color palette suggest there's a chance this could be something special. And thank god we'll be spared any Jar Jar nonsense (though I will say, this wacko theory about that loathed character is funny, if all too ridiculous).

And so, I had to share these character posters that are making the rounds. I know everyone is already making a lot of the fact that Mark Hamill’s Luke Skywalker continues to be conspicuously (and intentionally, I’m sure) absent from the marketing of the film, but I have to admit that I wanted an Oscar Isaac character poster. If only to see his luscious cartoon pilot locks (what is it with hair and me lately?). And don’t get me started on Lupita; is her character going to be cameo-sized? I'm happy she's getting strong reviews Off-Broadway (enough for her play Eclipsed to already have booked a Broadway run next year) but for all the press she got when she was signed on for the franchise, I'd have expected her to be more prominently featured. [Update: No sooner had I published this that I saw the latest TV ad features her voice!] If she will be unrecognizable under CGI, I hope she gets to play more of a wily Bobba Fett than a tangentially villainous Jabba the Hutt.

And speaking of Jabba, did you hear that all “Slave Leia” merchandise is being pulled from stores? We know Carrie Fisher is not a fan (she reportedly told fellow co-star Daisy Ridley,“You should fight for your outfit. Don’t be a slave like I was.”). It’s a savvy and progressive move on Disney’s part though one which necessarily neglects both what Leia stands for and how the outfit in itself plays out in the film (I mean, she uses her chains to kill her kidnapper!). Yes, the outfit has since been co-opted and exploited, but does that really merit a wilful banishment from our pop culture lexicon?

Star Wars: The Marketing Awakens

Manuel (and Yoda!) here to talk more Star Wars! 

A photo posted by Manuel Betancourt (@bmanuel) on May 4, 2015 at 4:30am PDT

I have been an avid Star Wars fan since as far back as I can remember (blame my mom who was obsessed with Harrison Ford!) and so I couldn't let this celebration go by without throwing my two cents.

Nathaniel already wished you all a Happy May the Fourth, but as if intent on making sure the franchise isn't resting on nostalgia, Vanity Fair has just released a number of beautiful portraits of the new recruits of The Force Awakens and I couldn't not share three of them with you: 

Oscar Isaac: woofworthy since 2011 (and probably even before but I do love him in Drive)

The helmet is off and we get a first glimpse at bad guy Kylo Ren (Adam Driver)

And I saved the best for last:

Lupita: luminous even when doing motion capture (her character is apparently a pirate named Maz Kanata) 

Which of these pics will you be framing and swooning over until December when the film opens? Do these portraits give you hope, or do they just give you flashbacks to the equally glossy and gawk-worthy ones that greeted Episode One?