Chinese Star Wars: The Force Awakens Poster Accused Of Whitewashing

A new ‘Star Wars: The Force Awakens’ poster designed for the Chinese market has come under fire for apparently downplaying the roles in the film played by people of colour.

Here’s what the Chinese version and the US version look like side by side. Can you spot the difference?

The disparity was first pointed out on Twitter by Guy Lambert who shared both images with the caption: “Left: UK version. Right: China version. Spot the main massive difference”. His post has now been retweeted over 500 times.

Obviously, John Boyega’s Finn still appears on the Chinese poster, but he’s been shrunk down in size despite being one of the film’s main characters.

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Other actors characters who’ve been excised include Lupita Nyong’o’s Maz Kanata, and Oscar Isaac’s Poe Dameron. Chewbacca has also been completely cut, which makes you wonder: what did the walking carpet ever to do China?

To fill the gaps left by the vanishing characters, the Chinese poster has extra Stormtroopers, X-Wings, and TIE Fighters. It’s not yet clear where the decision to change the design was made - by the Chinese distributors or by Disney - but we’ve approached Disney for comment.

In 2013, the Italian distributors of ‘12 Years A Slave’ faced a similar backlash when cinema standees appeared featuring Brad Pitt and Michael Fassbender rather than the film’s lead actors Chiwitel Ejiofor and Lupita Nyong’o.

‘Star Wars: The Force Awakens’ will arrive in UK cinemas on 17 December.

Image credits: Disney/IMP Awards/Variety