13 International 'Star Wars' Posters You've Likely Never Seen

• "Star Wars: A New Hope" - Italy
• "Star Wars: Return of the Jedi" - Poland
• "Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back" - Poland
• "Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back" - France
• "Star Wars: A New Hope" - Japan
• "Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back" - Germany
• "Star Wars: Return of the Jedi" - Hungary
• "Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back" - Poland
• "Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back" - Hong Kong
• "Star Wars: A New Hope" - Hungary
• "Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back" - Turkey
• "Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back" - Japan
• "Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back" - Hungary

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Happy Star Wars Day!

To celebrate George Lucas’s sprawling space opera that first landed on Earth in May of 1977, we’ve got a global gathering of 13 international advertising one-sheets created for "Star Wars: A New Hope," "Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back," and "Star Wars: Return of the Jedi" that are pieces of cinematic history.

Most of these inventive interpretations for the foreign territories have never been seen in person. Film distributors and theater owners outside the U.S. would routinely commission both amateur and professional artists to conjure up promotional movie posters using symbolism and iconography specific to their particular cultures.

What eventually manifested for these important international release regions has become prized "Star Wars" collector's pieces derived beyond the official marketing materials provided by Lucasfilm and 20th Century Fox. These imaginative designs often used minimalist imagery and sci-fi characters not even included in the films, yet helped establish a particular mood, tone, and emotion to entice fans into their seats.

Let’s travel around the globe, from Hungary, Japan, and Germany, to Italy, France, and Poland, to see 13 foreign "Star Wars" posters from the late ‘70s and early ‘80s when the power of the Force arrived in theaters there.

Grab your passport, and away we go!

"Star Wars: A New Hope" - Italy

"Star Wars: Return of the Jedi" - Poland

"Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back" - Poland

"Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back" - France

"Star Wars: A New Hope" - Japan

"Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back" - Germany

"Star Wars: Return of the Jedi" - Hungary

"Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back" - Poland

"Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back" - Hong Kong

"Star Wars: A New Hope" - Hungary

"Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back" - Turkey

"Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back" - Japan

"Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back" - Hungary

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Jeff Spry is an award-winning screenwriter and veteran freelance journalist covering TV, movies, video games, books, and comics. His work has appeared at SYFY Wire, Inverse, Collider, Bleeding Cool and elsewhere. Jeff lives in beautiful Bend, Oregon amid the ponderosa pines, classic muscle cars, a crypt of collector horror comics, and two loyal English Setters.