Stunning Chinese 'Justice League' Posters Imagine the Heroes in Watercolor
As China continues its reign as one of the most dominant movie markets on Earth, studios will do their hardest to appeal to Chinese moviegoers. Enter: These gorgeous posters for Justice League, which reimagine DC’s heroic six (sorry, Martian Manhunter) in Chinese-style watercolors.
Originally posted by a self-identified anime blogger in Shanghai before being shared by the official DC Films account on the social networking platform Weibo on November 6, smack dab in the middle of the film’s press tour in China, these new posters are strongly modeled in the style of medieval Chinese watercolors.
Aside from its unique style that imagines the Justice League in a way they’ve never been seen before, the collection also features Superman, who for the most part has been kept out of the film’s marketing but hinted at in vague terms. One previous poster had Superman appear in silhouette, while on the official poster, Superman’s iconic “S” logo was used in the original “You Can’t Save the World Alone” poster released prior to New York Comic Con in October.
Due to its prosperous middle class, the Chinese movie market is one of the most important for today’s Hollywood blockbusters. In January this year, TIME profiled Chinese superstar Fan Bingbing in the context of China’s meteoric rise as a dominant cinematic force. At the same time, however, there is concern that the boom will also burst. In July 2017, Deadline reported that the Chinese government placed “tight restrictions” on Chinese financiers in Hollywood, specifically banks lending to Dalian Wanda, China’s largest cinematic operator that owns a majority share in the AMC Theaters franchise.
Still, it looks like fans will see Justice League regardless. While last year’s Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice did a whopping $330 million domestically during its theatrical run, China was the second largest gross for the film, with a gross of over $95 million. The same was true for this year’s Wonder Woman, which had a powerful $412 million domestic gross and $90 million at the Chinese box office. All told, that can only mean good things for Justice League.
See the posters via Imgur below.
Justice League will hit theaters on November 17.
