The Last Spoiler
The 2017 top expected film will be on screen in two months. But it seems like all the secrets left unveiled since the massive promo campaign started with the first teaser in early 2017. What to expect and is there something to expect?
There is a great dualism inside modern franchise promotion. Powered by market mechanisms, movie industry sometimes is going one step too far in pursuit of audience attention and cash, directly from the expected screenings or indirectly from the merchandise, comic cons, fests, books and other allied products for fans. On the other hand, it needs to keep the interest high on the water before the premiere. That is why I wonder what went wrong if now, in two months before the first screening, we have already seen tons of screencaps, learnt the new characters, discussed the role of Luke Skywalker, noticed every tiny detail and even faced the Episode VIII merch in stores? Is this the way of losing the intrigue and control over the Galaxy far far away?
Photo credit: Vanity Fair, Entertainment
The first tremble of anxiety began to chill my cinematic mind when I saw pretty detailed descriptions of the space saga newcomers. No idea what was the goal, but it seems to me that people will be much more expectant to see the movie if they do not know its tricks. And now everyone is speaking about porgs, new Pokemonish creatures, the casino-planet and its resemblance to The Fifth Element`s opera house, Laura Dern`s character and her art deco style, evident parallel between Finn and Rose in Imperial suits and Jyn Erso and Cassian Andor in the same masquerade circumstances, last appearance of Carrie Fisher, new Force knowledge to be obtained by Rey. And all this has shown up even before the second trailer, that revealed the duel between Finn and Captain Phasma, Luke`s suspicious assessment of Rey`s Force, General Hux`s absence in the trailer and Kylo Ren`s determined look.
Spoilers? Maybe they were not designed like this, but all in all look quite close to them. I can hardly imagine people waiting for Empire Strikes Back or Return of The Jedi on screen knowing all in advance. Anyway, all listed above is official, broadcasted via YouTube and social networks, printed on collection cards and portrayed in figurines and stickers.
The thing is that the value of each Star Wars new movie is potentially reduced by its own PR-campaign. If Disney keeps the pace of making at least one film a year (plus a spin-off) with such aggressive campaigns, it will surely guarantee the overweight box office and merchandise revenues. But will it keep the audience`s attention and interest on top? Will the collection items keep their value? Will the fans be more faithful? Will the Star Wars still be a geek legend, not just a simple trademark? It is still built on hope, and I hope for amazing views, beautiful graphics and Rian Johnson special view. At least, Kylo Ren`s offering hand looks promising.
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