With a multi-movie franchise comes many, many promotional posters. Star Wars is no exception. Staking its territory as a cultural phenomenon in the summer of 1977, Star Wars helped kick off the age of the summer blockbuster and adapted high fantasy, rife with the accompanying tropes, for sci-fi.
So with over 40 years worth of posters to sift through, we’re not including any character posters in the ranking. Oh, and no TV series. That would be too many posters and too many styles to compare against each other. So these will be for movies that had theatrical releases and are a part of the current cinematic Star Wars continuity. Here are the 10 best Star Wars posters, ranked. May the 4th be with you!
10. The Phantom Menace Teaser Poster, 1998
The Phantom Menace was one of the most financially successful of the entire Star Wars franchise, only behind the original movie and The Force Awakens. Audiences were eager for the galaxy from far, far away to return to the big screen, especially considering this is the beginning of Darth Vader’s story.
Unlike many of the other Star Wars posters, this is one of the few that is photography-based rather than illustrated. It depicts Anakin Skywalker as a young boy, downcast and alone. His shadow? The big bad himself, Darth Vader. Striking and simple, it deserves a place on the list for sparking interest and generally being a beautiful poster.
9. The Empire Strikes Back 10th Anniversary Poster, 1990
Weird to think how the movie’s going to be 40 years old in 2020. Let’s not think about how old we are.
As with any big franchise, Star Wars has its fair share of memorabilia and anniversary exclusives. The 10th-anniversary poster was created by Lawrence Noble. He originally submitted the design as a theatrical poster for the original release, but it didn’t make the final cut. Thankfully, it was later used for the 10th-anniversary one-sheet and distributed by the official Star Wars Fan Club.
8. Revenge of the Sith, 2005
Revenge of the Sith is widely considered the best of the prequel trilogy. Generally, it has better pacing and gives us the payoff we were waiting for in the other two movies. We finally see the fall of the Council, Palpatine’s successful navigation of space politics, and the rise of Darth Vader.
This is the first of the prequel posters to have a fully realized Darth Vader on it. What’s really fun is that the lightsaber duel between Anakin and Obi Wan kind of looks like the Death Star? Or is that the Rebel insignia? Either way, it’s a cool centerpiece to people looking wistfully off into the sunset.
7. The Last Jedi, 2017
A callback to a classic poster with a modern twist. In a way, it hinted to us that the torch (or in this case, lightsaber) is being passed on to the next generation. The only featured characters are Luke, Kylo Ren, and Rey.
In retrospect, the poster visually represents Rey’s internal struggle in the movie, walking that line between the path of the Jedi and the Sith.
6. The Force Awakens Comic-Con Poster, 2015
Going back to the classic illustration style, The Force Awakens was announced in late 2014. After Disney acquired Lucasfilm in 2012, the studio immediately began drafting up a sequel trilogy. And let’s be real, we were all thirsty for more Star Wars. The launch of the second trailer actually broke the world record as the most viewed movie trailer on Youtube in 24 hours at the time. This poster was released in 2015, closer to the movie’s actual release date. Han Solo, Finn, Rey, and Kylo Ren are featured in the image, with Rey front and center. Oh right, we all thought Finn was going to be the new Jedi. Good times.
It’s a beautiful callback to previous installations and stays truer to the original Star Wars feel than the photography-based poster.
5. The Empire Strikes Back, 1980
Ok, we had to throw another Empire poster in. It’s another essential poster in any Star Wars collection given how prolific the movie is. The Empire Strikes Back followed the act of A New Hope and then some. It was a sequel that didn’t disappoint and went above and beyond. Teasing Luke’s betrayal? Luke, I am your father? Freezing Han Solo in carbonite and setting up the final chapter when all hope seems lost? Yes, please.
The poster in general is very aesthetically pleasing with its color palette. And Leia and Han are front and center, so that’s a plus.
4. Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, 2016
Star Wars was never one to shy away from the darkness in the world. After The Force Awakens, it’s pretty clear that the current trilogy draws parallels between World War II and the Empire/First Order. The poster features part of the climactic beach battle and it’s really unlike any battle we’ve had before.
And the Death Star in the background is super pretty. What? A giant machine of destruction is allowed to be unironically beautiful.
3. Attack of the Clones, 2001
Anakin’s entire trilogy explores the ways of the Jedi and how the Jedi Council spectacularly screwed up by trying to repress the dark side. Balance of the Force and whatnot.
But it tells us exactly what we’re getting into. Anakin’s story focuses on his emotions and how damaging the Council’s views of the universe were. And the composition of the photograph is pretty neat. The beam of light near Anakin almost looks like a lightsaber, specifically the red one. Having Anakin and Padmé standing back to back as well is just the icing on the cake.
2. Return of the Jedi, 1983
Simple posters strike again. As the final installment of the original trilogy, there was a lot of hype. We could make the argument that even as a then “nerd culture” film, there was hype to rival that of Avengers: Endgame. But you know, different times, different audiences, and a shorter timeline of releases, so take that comparison with a grain of salt. Sequels weren’t as big of a craze as they are now, but Star Wars definitely helped usher in that age.
So in terms of a teaser poster, this definitely builds the hype. And maybe a little confusion since Luke’s lightsaber is green and not blue and those hands are definitely holding a blue lightsaber. Oh yeah, those are George Lucas’s hands. Pretty cool, right?
1. Star Wars, 1977
Of course the original poster was going to be number one, why wouldn’t it? Posters alone didn’t create a franchise, but this is what we all refer to when jogging our memories. There’s something so nostalgic about this poster, whether it be the illustrated appearance that looks like a sci-fi novel, the characters we all know and love, or the lightsaber pose. This is what we think of when we hear Star Wars.
Luke and Leia’s placement and poses, in particular, have been recreated either by TV shows or fan artists outside of Star Wars. But if you ever needed Star Wars summed up in a single image, it’s this one.
