The iconic Star Wars logo has accompanied one of cinema's greatest and most epic franchises for decades. But the design could have been very, very different.
A self-declared film nerd has shared an early prototype design for a 1977 promotional booklet, and suffice it to say, this design might not dated quite as well as the logo we know. One of the best logos it is not.
Star Wars (1977): Very early prototype for a promotional booklet.Or how to remember that SW is a child of the 1970s :) pic.twitter.com/P6jo6iOWgcOctober 24, 2023
"How to remember that SW is a child of the 1970s," the Spaceshipper said of a design that features red/orange laser beams extending from all of the letters of the film's name. It's a far cry from the iconic Star Wars logo with its bold yellow outline, which was designed by Joe Johnston.
While the laser-inspired logo is very much of its time, it's not a look that hasn't come back. Something like this would have looked perfect on any number of rave flyers from the 1990s. On Twitter, some have said it looks like the cover of a 2000s EDM cover or the Missile Command game.
We don't really know anything about this retro Star Wars logo design, but I wonder if it was the design that Johnston himself has alluded to in the past when he described how he was asked to 'fix' the Star Wars logo overnight. He told Cinema Blend that the design he was shown was "on one line and had very thin hairline letters with pointed ends on the W and everything". "I can't fix it, but I can redesign it," Johnston said he replied.
However, numerous early versions of the Star Wars logo were produced while the film was being developed, including on very camp design that we included in our pick of unused logo designs. Even the Star Wars logo we know and love can cause controversy. Back in 2017, there was a minor social media meltdown when Disney used it in a different colour.
