'Star Wars' Chinese poster called out for leaving out Chewbacca, shrinking down John Boyega

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Original image replaced with Mashable logo
Original image has been replaced. Credit: Mashable

You probably won't even have to blink to miss 'em.

Stormtroopers and BB-8 might have gotten a bigger role in China's Star Wars: The Force Awakens poster, but that apparently came at the diminishment of some key players -- namely, Chewbacca.

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Needless to say, fans were less than pleased about the lack of Han Solo's faithful side-kick.

OMG RACISM #CHINA ... CHEWBACCA IS NOT EVEN HERE #StarWars #StarWarsForceAwakens pic.twitter.com/mXCeTPPegV— Rémy Tran (@RaiteiFr) December 4, 2015

@SohoGuy Looks like the China LOVES BB-8 and hates Chewbacca— StylinRed (@StylinRed) December 4, 2015

#StarWars China poster sparks outrage among Wookiees after removing Chewbacca's photo pic.twitter.com/jVcvrNNmyc— Andrew Courtien (@andrewcourtien) December 4, 2015

China left out Chewbacca. Assholes.— My Sports Teams Suck (@HeyImAJ) December 4, 2015

Aside from egregiously omitting Chewie, the Chinese poster also shrunk down John Boyega's Finn and cut out other actors of color, such as Lupita Nyong’o's Maz Kanata and Oscar Isaac's Poe Dameron.

Much of the outrage from fans is directed at how Boyega's character seems to have been shrunken down -- literally.

Though his character is the third most prominent in previously released posters, Finn has been minimized and lowered down beneath Harrison Ford's Han Solo and Carrie Fisher's Leia in the Chinese poster.

As a result, many fans have accused Disney's Chinese marketing office of dismissing an actor of color.

Left: UK version. Right: China version. Spot the main massive difference #StarWars #StarWarsForceAwakens pic.twitter.com/9AFfiSAa6L— Guy Lambert (@SohoGuy) December 3, 2015

Chinese Star Wars poster minimizes black character's prominence. pic.twitter.com/VBYjraJgCR— Alex Muniz (@asmuniz) December 1, 2015

china’s star wars poster shrunk john boyega because he’s black, absolutely disgusting behaviour. pic.twitter.com/3vARSxtXLI— bruschetta dortmund (@meridiansour) December 4, 2015

They actually removed John Boyega from the star wars poster in China..this world man— Ish (@Bobby_Gizmo) December 4, 2015

Disney and Lucasfilm did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

In a similar incident, Lionsgate was forced to recall Italian posters for 12 Years a Slave that placed emphasis on Brad Pitt and Michael Fassbender instead of black lead actor Chiwetel Ejiofor.

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