As the current Star Wars trilogy grows ever closer its conclusion with Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, a brand-new poster for the film has been released. This poster pays tribute to another, very specific poster that was released when the Original Trilogy was nearing its own conclusion back in the '80s -- one that has become rather notorious amon Star Wars fans.
The new Rise of Skywalker poster -- posted to the official Star Wars Twitter page -- features silhouetted versions of Daisy Ridley's Rey and Adam Driver's Kylo Ren engaging in a lightsaber duel, with the film's logo appearing beneath their feet. Looming large above the two characters is Kylo Ren's helmet against a red background. Just a bit higher than that is the tagline, "The Saga Concludes."
If the poster looks at all familiar, that's because it's a direct homage to a teaser poster for 1983's Star Wars: Episode VI - Return of the Jedi -- from back when the film was instead titled Revenge of the Jedi. The original poster in question featured Luke Skywalker and Darth Vader as the ones doing battle, with Vader's iconic helmet being the focal point. The poster also featured the tagline, "The Saga Continues." Moreover, he tagline and the title are located in the same places on the original poster as they are in the new one.
Interestingly enough, the original title for Star Wars: Episode VI was, in fact, Return of the Jedi. However, co-screenwriter and franchise creator George Lucas was convinced to change the name to Revenge of the Jedi, with the aforementioned teaser poster -- as well as one teaser trailer -- carrying this title.
Lucas ultimately opted to change the title back to Return of the Jedi, deciding that a Jedi should not be one to seek "revenge." Lucasfilm then halted the distribution of the Revenge posters and sold off their remaining stock. Original copies of the pulled poster have become popular among Star Wars collectors over the years, and sell for a considerable amount of money.
Directed and co-written by J.J. Abrams, Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker stars Daisy Ridley, Adam Driver, John Boyega, Oscar Isaac, Lupita Nyong’o, Domhnall Gleeson, Kelly Marie Tran, Joonas Suotamo, Billie Lourd, Keri Russell, Anthony Daniels, Mark Hamill, Billy Dee Williams and Carrie Fisher, with Naomi Ackie and Richard E. Grant. The film arrives December 20.