Disney is attempting to seduce spoiler-phobic fans to the dark side with a barrage of new Force Awakens TV spots. The A.V. Club understands that you may be suffering from Star Wars fatigue, but the two latest international spots, featuring significant amounts of new footage, are certainly deserving of some attention. And judging by the clips, market research has shown that Chinese audiences want more of The First Order, while Spanish-speaking fans just want more Oscar Isaac.
The latest Chinese TV spot (above) focuses on the dark side of the Force. There was some minor blowback last week about John Boyega’s presence being minimized on the Chinese Force Awakens poster. But this may not have been fear of a black planetary system, but rather simple marketing: Robots and masked characters like Kylo Ren and Captain Phasma presumably draw better in the land where a team of urban combat robots are a hit. (Look at how big BB-8 is on that poster.) Viewers are treated to quite a bit of new footage in the clip, including Han Solo affectionately referring to the Falcon as “baby,” a shot of an X-Wing squadron actually amongst the stars—and more than likely preparing for war—and some Poe Dameron dialogue reminiscent of the original trilogy. The ad as a whole features characters interacting rather than reacting, which recalls the trio of Han, Luke and Leia in the original films.
Speaking of Poe, the Resistance pilot is featured heavily in this Univision TV spot, with Issac introducing the clip in Spanish. The ad focuses on the slam-bang action, dogfights and “delightfulness” of Star Wars that Force Awakens scribe Lawrence Kasdan has mentioned in recent interviews. (“The Force Awakens is goofy,” Kasdan tells The L.A. Times, “in the best way.”) Judging from this clip, The Force Awakens is attempting to bring back the quippy fun that was missing from the prequel trilogy, with Dameron spouting out heroic dialogue whilst leading his flight squadron and Finn exclaiming “I’m getting pretty good at this” after blasting a TIE Fighter out of the skies of Jakku.
Star Wars: Episode VII—The Force Awakens officially opens December 18, with showings beginning Thursday at 7 PM.