The Chinese version of the Star Wars: Force Awakens poster has edited out the non-white characters

Star Wars: The Force Awakens will be in cinemas in China in January, about a month after the UK and US.

Posters have just gone up around the country, and you don't need to be eagle-eyed to spot an interesting difference between the Western and Chinese versions:

The Chinese version of the ad has minimised the presence of John Boyega, who plays lead character Finn, and Lupita Nyong'o who plays alien pirate Maz Kanata and Oscar Isaac, who plays rebel pilot Poe Dameron, have been edited out altogether - along with Chewbacca.

To make up for the absence of the non-white characters there are lots more Stormtroopers, Tie-fighters and explosions.

The Sony email hack last year revealed that an anonymous producer in Hollywood thought that international audiences are racist.

It's not clear whether the decision to edit the poster was taken in the US or China, and Disney and Lucasfilm have not responded to requests for comment.

HT Quartz

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