John Berkey Poster Sketches for Star Trek II (1982)

John Berkey is one of my favorite artists, and I wish I could feature him more here. Unfortunately, this early poster for Star Trek: The Motion Picture and the poster sketches below for Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan are the only publicly-seen work he did for Star Trek that I know of. (If you know of any others, please leave a comment!)

The Winter 2012 issue of Illustration magazine reports that Berkey "did paintings and preliminary sketches for several of the Star Trek movies, but the studio turned all but one of those paintings over to other artists to redo, and their versions were printed as the movie posters." This tribute piece, written by a friend of Berkey's shortly after his passing in 2008, goes into further detail regarding the same claims:

"He was actually commissioned to paint all six movie posters for the Star Trek original series films. But, for some reason Paramount had another artist duplicate (almost exactly) each one of Berkey's paintings in a softer, more airbrushed style. By the time Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country came out… Berkey realized that Paramount had… again had [his work] duplicated by the same airbrush artist. Berkey told me something to the effect of, 'If Star Trek ever calls again, I probably won't return the call.'"

It would be nice to see some evidence of this! I have no doubt there are many comps for Star Trek movies among the hundreds of John Berkey paintings and sketches that have never been seen by the public, but of the concepts we have, none seem to have been re-created by anyone (I suspect the unnamed "airbrush artist" must be Bob Peak). Lastly, the SF Encyclopedia entry for John Berkey states that he painted posters or ancillary material for Star Trek IV in addition to TMP and Star Trek II, but provides no evidence of such material.

Star Trek II - Sketch #1

This sketch appeared on eBay in 2013, described as an original Berkey painting for a proposed movie poster for Star Trek II. It depicts Khan in his face mask looming over the Enterprise and her crew. Painting measures 11.25" x 16.25" on 15" x 20" illustration board. Unfortunately, these are the largest images available.

Star Trek II - Sketch #2 and #3

This pair of similar sketches shows a different take on the "looming Khan" concept. The first is gouache on illustration board and measures 20" x 14"; it shows the Enterprise heading away from the viewer and toward its confrontation with the USS Reliant. HA describes this sketch as a poster study. Be sure to click the images below for hi-resolution versions!

The second, below, is acrylic and casein on illustration board and measures 20.5" x 14"; it shows the Enterprise heading toward the viewer and away from the pursuing USS Reliant.

Curiously, HA describes this sketch as a "Wrath of Kahn [sic] paperback cover preliminary," whereas its twin is described as a poster study. Clearly these are related pieces, the only major differences between them being the heading of the Enterprise and the level of detail on the Reliant. Berkey was known for his wonderful sci-fi book covers in addition to movie poster work; it's possible the composition was submitted for both purposes, with slightly different executions, or that a mistake was made in determining the provenance of the image(s).

Star Trek: The Motion Picture Advance/Teaser/Promo Poster (1978)

John Berkey is one of my favorite artists, and I wish I could feature him more here. Unfortunately, aside from a few poster sketches for Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan, this is the only publicly-seen work he did for the Star Trek franchise that I know of.

This is an advance / teaser / promo poster for Star Trek: The Motion Picture, dated 1978. Be sure to click the image above for a hi-resolution version! The art features the Enterprise in a space scene painted by John Berkey, with a row of eight cast photos along the bottom. (This format matches the layout for some other big movie posters of the time — for example, see the one sheet for The Towering Inferno, also with art by Berkey, and also with a row of cast photos along the bottom.) The provenance of this teaser poster is not clear. HA lists it either as a "British Double Crown" or as a promotional poster, with sizes variously given as 18.5 x 25.5, 18.25 x 25.5, 17 x 24.5, and 19 x 26 (inches). Since a Double Crown measures 20" x 30", I would classify this instead as a promo or teaser poster.

The title treatment used for this version of the teaser poster (a decidedly not-futuristic-looking Art Deco-style "STAR TREK" followed by "THE MOTION PICTURE" set in Helvetica) does not match the typography later used for TMP's marketing as well as for the movie's own title card, a much more 23rd-century custom typeface designed for the film by Richard A. Foy [source: Typeset in the Future, Dave Addey].

In addition, the starship as shown here looks somewhat different than it does in the finished film. Some internet sources have stated that Berkey did concept art for the aborted Phase II series, and that's what this painting represents; however, Berkey was not a concept artist. The Enterprise was redesigned for Phase II by Matt Jefferies, the ship's original designer. Likely John Berkey was given concept illustrations for the refit Enterprise and based his poster painting on those (see Mike Minor's illustration below, also based on Jefferies' redesign — details on the ship match those in the Berkey painting [source: The Art of Star Trek]).

Teaser Version 2

A second version of this image was published later in 1978. While I have seen no evidence it was printed as a poster, it was used as a print ad in comic books and possibly elsewhere. At the top, this design features a tagline for the film which I haven't seen anywhere else: "A 23rd Century Odyssey Now." The logo / title treatment for the film is now the familiar custom typeface, the Paramount Pictures logo is different, and a ninth cast photo has been added to the lineup: Persis Khambatta as Ilia (her name has also been repositioned in the credits block). At the bottom of the page, the promise that the film is COMING THIS CHRISTMAS TO A THEATRE NEAR YOU.

Teaser Version 3

The image was also used for another print ad in 1980 (source). This is the only evidence I've seen that this image was used not just as a teaser but also during the run of the film, as this ad sports the phrase NOW PLAYING AT A THEATRE NEAR YOU. This ad also uses one of the film's two main advertising tags, "The human adventure is just beginning," and adds a tenth cast photo along the bottom: Majel Barrett as Dr. Chapel. The credits block, etc, has been moved outside the painting.

Paramount Exhibitor Book

A variant of the Berkey painting was used for Paramount's 1978 Exhibitor Book. An exhibitor book announced to theater owners some of the films the studio was going to release in the upcoming year, as well as films that were planned or in production. Be sure to click the images below for hi-resolution versions!

Playing Cards

Berkey's unmistakable rendering of the Enterprise was also used for the backs of a licensed deck of playing cards, albeit in illustrated form. I have no info on the artist responsible for re-drawing the Enterprise.