Unused STAR WARS Poster Reveals Interesting Advertising Angles

What's not to love about the original poster for Star Wars? It has become one of the most iconic and parodied designs in movie history, and for good reason. The poster features extremely sexed up versions of Luke and Leia, a looming Darth Vader, and a giant fleet of X-Wing fighters going up against the "ultimate power in the universe!"

Sure, a Luke that buff and that bare chested only exists in overly muscular Star Wars action figures from the '90s. And yes, Leia didn't show anything close to that amount of skin until Return of the Jedi, seven years after the release of A New Hope in 1977. But it got people excited for wars that happened a long time ago, and stars in a galaxy far, far away…. and milk, blue milk. Ok maybe not the milk.

Here's an unused poster concept for Star Wars that features some rather curious advertising angles. The design was recently discovered by Christopher Mills at Space1970 who points out, "what's so ironic about this is that it was the spectacular success of Luke Skywalker that paved the way for both Buck Rogers and Flash Gordon to return to the big screen over the next few years."

It's pretty common knowledge that George Lucas was inspired by those sci-fi icons, but I'm more interested in delving into the tagline: "It'll make you feel like a kid again." From Return of The Jedi and into the prequels, Lucas approached Star Wars as movies for kids. I think this marketing reveals the original intention and appeal of the first two Star Wars movies. They're not kids' movies. They're films that will awaken the kid inside you! Not because they're about kids, or involve furry, kid-sized creatures, but because they took us into a sprawling universe with infinite and awe inspiring possibilities.

I'm confident that J.J. Abrams will make Episode VII into something that once again appeals to both young and older audiences… and possibly throw in some milk, blue milk.