By looking at the Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith movie poster, major plot points are apparent within its visual elements. This is especially interesting because the elements in the poster hints at a major plot twist that serves to entice and encourage Star Wars fans to see the movie.  The poster uses a combination of directionality, object size, character body language, and color scheme use to provide insight into the plot. The artist utilizes these elements to entice viewers who have seen the original Star Wars Trilogy to go out and discover how the depicted Jedi fell prey to the darkness of the Sith (Lucas).

Drew Struzan employs the use of specific colors to display the overall outcome of the movie, which is the eventual overtake of light by the darkness. The dominant colors chosen for this movie poster are blue, red and black (Struzan). Blue light is emanating from the middle of the poster, but seems to be less powerful than the darker colors, such as the red and black that overtake the poster. Black often corresponds with ominous emotions and death, while red is historically synonymous with anger and blood. Black is the color of the dark side of the force, and red is the color of their lightsabers (Lucas). With both colors so prominent on the poster, the designer is providing a huge clue as to the direction that this movie will take. The dark colors overtaking the light in the poster begin to show that the darkness of the Sith is taking over the light of the Jedi.

When looking at the movie poster art for Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith, the eye is immediately drawn to the dazzling blue light emanating from the lightsabers locked in combat. Both weapons are a bluish color (Struzan). As any fan of the original Star Wars trilogy would know, blue lightsabers indicate that both men are Jedi Knights (Lucas). Already, the movie poster hints at upcoming betrayal within the Jedi. From this central light, the eye's attention follows the path of the lightsabers up towards two faces, a man and a woman.  Both of these characters are drawn larger than the other characters, denoting their importance in the story. The woman, Padme, is looking outward towards the left edge of the poster, which leads the eye in the direction of a little green alien with deep wrinkles. This alien, Yoda, is a 700-year old senior member of the Jedi Council, and rarely leaves the Jedi Temple because his presence on the Council is paramount (Lucas). Despite both his age and social status, the poster shows Yoda in full battle mode with his lightsaber drawn (Struzan). This suggests that something terrible happens, forcing even the eldest Jedi into action. Following the direction of Yoda's lightsaber leads the viewer to the right side of the poster and focuses in on another character, Obi-Wan Kenobi. Obi-Wan is also drawn on a larger scale than other characters, suggesting that he too is a key character in the story. Next to Obi-Wan, on the far right, is another Jedi. Directly underneath them both is a sneering, wrinkly old man. This man is placed directly next to the title, Revenge of the Sith, suggesting that he is the missing Sith Lord that the Jedi have been desperately searching for in previous episodes in the series. His placement on the poster as directly underneath the two Jedi's gazes hint at the notion that he has been hiding underneath their noses the entire time. The artist engages the use of directionality to draw the eye along this path as a hint of what is to come in Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith.

After following the initial path around the poster as described in the previous claim, the viewer begins to comprehend that the three faces in the middle of the poster are drawn on a larger scale than the rest of the characters (Struzan). This indicates the importance of these three central characters; however it is curious to see that their gazes are unique. The man in the center, Anakin Skywalker, is staring directly ahead, as if his path is chosen, and he is determined to follow it. The other two characters' gazes are different than Anakin's suggesting that they do not approve of this path, and are embarking on paths of their own. When attention is directed toward Anakin's path, it's obvious that Anakin's gaze is in line with that of both the Sith Lord and the helmet of Darth Vader (Struzan). This suggests that the path Anakin has chosen is one that leads him to the Dark Side, and the Sith Lord will aid him in his transformation from Jedi Knight to Darth Vader, Lord of the Sith (Lucas). His gaze is also directed at the two combatants beneath him, hinting that his path will lead him to this confrontation. The focus of the three central figures of the poster, specifically the direction of their gazes, provides key insight into the movie.

The path of one of the blue lightsabers leads to a man in the center of the poster (Struzan). This man is a Jedi that is drawn in the poster with a stern facial expression. Anger is an atypical emotion for a Jedi because it instigates the journey to the dark side of the Force (Lucas).  Showing Anakin in this way suggests that he is the traitor, and therefore one of the characters fighting in the battle featured in the poster. Anakin's face is enveloped in a shadow from the enormous black helmet looming above him, further reinforcing this theory of Anakin's impending betrayal. It seems as if the shadow is about to eclipse the light in the poster, representing the rising dark side overcoming the remaining light inside Anakin as he abandons the Jedi Order. The placement of the mask, behind Anakin, foreshadows his transformation into Darth Vader. (Struzan). The black mask is also placed just out of sight from the other Jedi, symbolizing a looming threat, as if they are about to be stabbed in the back. The poster depicts a danger that will spell the end for the Jedi Order and their position of power in society (Lucas).

The Star Wars Revenge of the Sith movie poster carefully uses visual elements such as object placement and size, color, and character movement and expression to provide viewers with an insight into the plot of this movie. The elements chosen by the artist provide a progression for the eye to follow that provides a glimpse of what is to be expected in the movie. Struzan reveals the overall emotions felt in the third installment of the Star Wars series, and excites Star Wars fans with the notion of impending doom for the Jedi.
