Before Star Wars was established as a beloved film series, the movie relied on advertising campaigns to attract audiences. In the days prior to expansive content sharing on the filmmaking process through the internet, social media, and 24-hour news cycle, movie posters were conduits to film fans.

The first promotional poster for A New Hope was drawn by Howard Chaykin in comic book style. Depicting the main trio of Luke, Leia, and Han with the epic villain Darth Vader, it introduced viewers to the idea that it would be an adventure, in addition to science fiction. Printed by 20th Century Fox in 1976 in a very limited print run, it was unveiled at the World Science Fiction Convention in Kansas City. The poster is much smaller than the typical one-sheet style, measuring 20” x 29”.

The idea behind this first Star Wars poster came from the movie’s advertising/publicity supervisor Charles Lippincott. He took an aggressive, innovative approach to marketing the movie, which began by connecting to their target audience. Knowing that they’d need to market directly to science fiction fans, Lippincott publicized the film at science fiction and comic book conventions, in newspapers, and on radio stations throughout 1976. This included bringing cast members to conventions where they would sign promotional material, including the poster that Chaykin created. These promotional events and advertisements helped build interest for the upcoming film, leading to bigger audiences when the movie was released.

Those rare, comic style movie posters that Chaykin designed are among the most desirable Star Wars movie posters in the secondary market. As of 2025, they regularly command $2,000 to $10,000 with the earliest releases going for $15,000 or more.