Star wars analysis of promotional materials

PainRack · Post by **PainRack** » 2004-02-11 07:37am

Exactly what the header says.

How will you treat promotional materials for the Star Wars Movies, like the posters, movie trailers, etc etc etc.

How will you analyse them, and would they be canon or EU?

Post by **Vympel** » 2004-02-11 07:44am

Can they really offer anything to us? For example, the always nice looking 'painting' style posters (or whatever the actual term is) that seem particular to just SW nowadays are just a collection of characters in various poses.

Spanky The Dolphin · Post by **Spanky The Dolphin** » 2004-02-11 07:47am

PainRack wrote:How will you analyse them, and would they be canon or EU?

Oh dear sweet Lord...

Sarevok · Post by **Sarevok** » 2004-02-11 08:56am

Promotionaly material does not offer anything new since it is by name something that promotes existing movies, games etc.

PainRack · Post by **PainRack** » 2004-02-11 10:51am

Vympel wrote:Can they really offer anything to us? For example, the always nice looking 'painting' style posters (or whatever the actual term is) that seem particular to just SW nowadays are just a collection of characters in various poses.

Promotional material do not just cover the existing PT. For example, Curtis Saxton made note of a poster for TESB, in which the cockpit of the AT-AT was red. Indeed, we do know that follow on comics later also indicated the "red" cockpit of the TESB poster.

Similarly, the newer posters also demonstrated several interesting details about the Jedi robes. They also showed a new "lightsabre colour", purple, indicating that Mace Windu is not the only jedi with a purple lightsabre.

There's also the movie trailers. The movie trailer for TPM differed significantly from the movie, as several moves in the Maul vs Obiwan/Qui Gon duel was changed. Furthermore, I'm tempted to treat the Every journey begins with a small step is something they lifted out of the Journal of Whillis, and the Jedi Code in AOTC likewise.

PainRack · Post by **PainRack** » 2004-02-11 10:55am

evilcat4000 wrote:Promotionaly material does not offer anything new since it is by name something that promotes existing movies, games etc.

That's where you would be wrong. The most celebrated example will be the red AT-AT cockpit,something that has been later backed up in the EU comics.

Furthermore, my focus is on promotional materials for the films itself. While certain items like Pepsi and Burger King Star Wars ads can certainly be discarded from consideration, what about the posters, movie trailers, movie ads, etc etc etc?

nightmare · Post by **nightmare** » 2004-02-11 11:25am

Case by case. The wallpapers presented by Darth Wong are pictures directly from movie sets as it was filmed, so they should be canon. The movie trailers for TPM etc. aren't part of the in-universe storyline so they fall somewhere lower. Game promotional material should be official unless they deal with in-game stats and such.

Spanky The Dolphin · Post by **Spanky The Dolphin** » 2004-02-11 12:28pm

I would ignore them entirely, as their presentation and execution occurs outside the diegetic realm of the films.

Robert Treder · Post by **Robert Treder** » 2004-02-12 12:09am

PainRack wrote:Similarly, the newer posters also demonstrated several interesting details about the Jedi robes. They also showed a new "lightsabre colour", purple, indicating that Mace Windu is not the only jedi with a purple lightsabre.

Mace Windu has a purple sabre in the movie, too...

The reddish cockpit of the AT-AT can be seen in ROTJ, so there's movie evidence for that (and IIRC, the poster Saxton was looking at wasn't pre-ROTJ).

Other than that, there isn't really anything new learned from any promotional material, so we don't have to bother suspending our disbelief. If there was something interesting to be gleaned from them, then I'm sure we'd find a way to reconcile them, but we don't really have to do that just yet.

Demiurge · Post by **Demiurge** » 2004-02-13 11:10pm

What about Marfalump?

Spanky The Dolphin · Post by **Spanky The Dolphin** » 2004-02-13 11:18pm

What about her?

Demiurge · Post by **Demiurge** » 2004-02-13 11:29pm

If he's offiical, then we would know that there's someone more annoying than Jar Jar in the Star Wars universe.

He also drank pepsi and attended the Phantom Menace premier with Jake Lloyd. That would have interesting implications.

Spanky The Dolphin · Post by **Spanky The Dolphin** » 2004-02-13 11:47pm

Oh, I thought you meant Chewbacca's wife.

Nevermind then.

Kurgan · Post by **Kurgan** » 2004-02-18 01:05pm

In early trailers for the SW films we see Luke using a blue saber in ROTJ, and Obi-Wan (IIRC) and Vader using thin white sabers (actually the sticks they used before the post production VFX) in ANH.

The story of "A Boy, a Girl and a Universe," bro!

I agree, the promotional materials are totally outside the realm of the story, so they're not going to fit anywhere. If the official stuff happens to back up something that appeared in a poster or Burger King cup or trailer, hey that's cool, but yeah.