Lucasfilm and Disney don’t really need to do a whole heck of a lot to get people hyped up for The Force Awakens in the U.S. They pretty much had us at "Chewie, we’re home." In other parts of the world, however, it may actually take some work to get the bodies into the theater. This leads to some truly awesome, and occasionally bizarre, marketing ideas ending up in places where we never get to see them. A perfect example being the full-sized X-wing that just landed at Singapore’s Changi Airport.
That, in and of itself, would be cool enough to see while you’re racing from security to catch your flight, but there’s so much more. There’s actually a full-sized TIE-Fighter as well, because equal representation is important. Apparently they are capable of holding occupants and a limited number of tickets are being handed out so that people can sit inside them. An entire contingent of both Resistance and First Order Stormtroopers were on hand for the unveiling of the attraction.
The Rebels appear to be significantly outgunned here. Still, how epic, and mildly terrifying, would this look coming down the escalator at you? We assume the reason that nobody is going the other direction is because they closed the escalator down, though it’s also possible people were just terrified.
And this is actually small potatoes compared to other things that Disney has done to promote Star Wars overseas. When the last major trailer was unveiled in China it was broadcast on the side of The Great Wall itself, a wall which was then invaded by several hundred Stormtroopers. While the Star Wars films have been big business in the U.S. and Europe since pretty much the beginning, they have not been as popular in Asia. As that part of the world grows in economic power, and box office strength, it’s becoming increasingly important for studios to promote their products there.
Of course the other problem with pulling something like this off in the U.S. is that while the country has a near infinite number of airports, many likely wouldn’t have the space to land an X-wing. Changi looks more like a cathedral than an airport where that X-wing is set up. All we have is an infinite number of headphone kiosks. Though, to be fair, you can probably buy Star Wars licensed headphones there.
