In the tumultuous months surrounding the release of Star Wars in 1977, marketers scrambled to come up with a number of effective poster images to promote what they were touting as "a science-fantasy" adventure. Deciding early on that the print campaign should avoid the pitfalls of traditional science fiction movie advertising -- high-tech hardware, exotic creatures, alien settings, etc. -- the Star Wars posters would convey more down-to-earth messaging, such as the relationship between Luke and Leia and the action-packed thrill elements test audiences were lauding.
From these marketing objectives came three artwork posters that most fans are now familiar with -- the Tom Jung-designed Style "A", which placed Luke and Leia at the fore with the hardware elements relegated to background detail; the Style "C" by Thomas Chantrell, which was all action and showcased the three main heroes blasting away; and the Style "D", which was a Charles White/Drew Struzan collaboration evocative of the rollicking adventure serials of the 1930s and '40s.
Quietly submitted somewhere into this mix of classic movie poster images was a fourth design executed by freelance artist Dan Goozee through ad agency Seiniger and Associates. Although for years this artwork was thought to be a mere poster concept among many other unused illustrations in Lucasfilm's Imaging Archives, a recent discovery from a Toronto newspaper has elevated this piece to the status of artwork used for the legendary Star Wars advertising campaign.
Rummaging through old newspaper clippings from collector Steve Sansweet's personal archives, an obscure ad featuring Goozee's artwork of Luke and Leia swinging over a legion of stormtroopers was discovered among the stacks of boxed periodicals. The artwork, which includes familiar Star Wars poster elements such as Vader, the Death Star, X-wings, and droids, was actually printed as a full-page advertisement in November, 1977, placing its publication somewhere between the summer release of Tom Jung's Style "A" poster and the December, 1977 debut of Chantrell's Style "C". The Style "D" would be unveiled in the summer of '78.
Fans will recognize many elements similar to the White/Struzan Style "D" poster, most notably the figures of Luke and Leia swinging on a rope. Though released in 1978, the Style "D" artwork was actually completed in April, 1977, just weeks before the film's release on May 25. Goozee recalls seeing this artwork before composing his own version, which he remembers being asked to make "as exciting as possible."
"I'm pretty sure I saw [the White/Struzan] piece as it was done earlier," says Goozee, who was unaware that his artwork had ever formally been used for the campaign until now. "As for the rope stunt, it may have been used to lend a 'swashbuckling' element. There were a lot of 'space western' and 'Saturday matinee' elements to the movie and that was one of its many charms."
Goozee also recalls having submitted several pencil roughs before this one was picked, and even did a polished full-color comp that required a few modifications before final sign-off -- Leia's go-go boots were replaced with slippers, the Death Star took on some added detail, and the droid duo R2-D2 and C-3PO were added. "That was requested for the finish," recalls Goozee. As many fans know, the same request to add the droids was made for the famous Tom Jung Style "A" poster artwork, which originally didn't include them.
Interestingly, the Luke and Leia rope swing did not end with the White/Struzan and Goozee pieces. Tom Chantrell, who ultimately designed the action-packed Style "C" poster artwork, also took a crack at incorporating the signature "swashbuckler" swing into a preliminary comp. Using many elements he would later include in his Style "C" artwork, his "swing" concept was inspired by the White/Struzan version, going so far as to utilize the exact pose originally composed by Struzan for the "D".
The Goozee illustration, though never printed as a full-blown theatrical poster, can now be quietly re-filed in the archives as a legitimate piece of Star Wars advertising artwork, a distinction shared by a privileged few. Though having worked for years in the film industry as an illustrator and pre-production artist on films such as Moonraker, Clash of the Titans, Tora-Tora-Tora, The Poseidon Adventure, and The Towering Inferno, Goozee currently splits his time between conceptual design work for theme parks and fine art gallery paintings. Perhaps someday, his Star Wars movie poster artwork will get the one-sheet status it rightfully deserves, displayed comfortably among its more famous contemporaries.
Fans interested in exploring more work by Dan Goozee can visit his official website here.
