The Drew Struzan
movie-weekly.com.au interview is interesting.
Struzan has both seen a cut and read the script. The poster has Finn holding a saber which also suggests possessing The Force. Leaked info, posted concept art, official releases has Finn as a AWOL Trooper turned carrier for Poe Dameron - whose mission is to saber back to Leia who in turn can get the saber back to Luke - while using it for briefly for defensive purposes.
Drew Struzan: ... I’ve never worked with J.J before and so we started working on it and he showed me like half the movie and it was just… a wonderful film and I know it’s going to be grand. I got to read the script and subsequently I’ve seen half of it and I can tell you and the fans this, Honest to god, it is far and away probably going to be THE BEST Star Wars you’ve ever seen.
Drew Struzan: ... I read the script and I saw the film, I got to know the maker and I know Star Wars. I had feelings for it and I paint how I feel about it. And it seems to connect with you and the world. So I have a universal feeling and I paint what I saw. Having seen the film I know what it is about. I got familiar with the characters, so I know what they’re portraying in their feelings. So I paint the situation and I paint the feelings. Not to tell the story, but to tell you how you’re going to feel when you see the film.
ON FINN WIELDING SABER:
DREW: ... How can I represent this film really well? And I did this, like many creatives do, I came up with the concept in my sleep. Just like John Lennon used to write his best music in his sleep, I designed my painting in my sleep. That was the first one I did and I went for seven months doing stuff and in the end, guess which one they picked?
To me it represents the film. The spirit of the film, the new characters, the battle again to find the truth, to grow up, to find the purpose in life. It’s all those things that Star Wars had to be and is still. And I hope to represent that again to a new generation.
Also was it necessary to have three suns on the poster:
