Star Wars fans love to debate the minutiae of the popular film franchise: did Han shoot first? Are the model-based special effects superior to CGI? Should the recent trilogy even be acknowledged? One point that can’t be denied is that Star Wars‘ characters haven’t been particularly (ethnically) diverse; one might go so far as to say that, aside from Lando Calrissian, heroes and villains are overwhelmingly white and male.
The next Star Wars movie, directed by J.J. Abrams, is attempting to change that. Due out in China on January 9, 2016, Star Wars: The Force Awakens will feature a number of female and racially-diverse actors in starring roles.
But it’s unclear whether the Chinese market is ready for it.
As noted on Imgur and Reddit, the Chinese promotional poster for Star Wars: The Force Awakens is different than the international version, dramatically reducing the prominence of British actor, John Boyega. In the poster, Boyega, who was born to Nigerian parents and has a starring role in the film, is largely replaced by Harrison Ford’s character, Han Solo.
We can only guess at the motives for these alterations, particularly given that foreign companies are known to pander to Chinese customs and traditions. This is not to say that other markets haven’t made some changes to the promotional poster, such as the South Korean poster that minimizes all characters except the villain, Kylo Ren:
What is particularly odd is that China initially approved the international version of the poster. Chinese media unveiled the poster on October 19, and aside from the title, the two are identical:
It was not until later that the posters were revised.
Here’s the full-size Chinese version of the Star Wars: The Force Awakens poster, complete with opening date and national IMAX certifications: