Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan - Bob Peak Art

This key art for Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan (STII or TWoK) is by one of the all-time great movie poster artists, Bob Peak (artist signature on the upper right side of the image). This art was used for several of STII’s theatrical poster campaigns outside the US (many of which you can view here), as well as for newspaper ads, movie tie-in merchandise, and the covers/sleeves for various home video releases. Be sure to click the images above and below for hi-resolution versions!

Alternate Version

Peak's portraiture from this key art seems to have been re-painted at some point for the STII newspaper ad campaign. Below, an uncut printer's proof showing a large ad for this movie, designed to be split across two facing newspaper pages (click to enlarge), followed by an image of a similar layout (with different ad copy) in use.

While the Enterprise and Regula I remain identical to Peak's key art, the character faces have been altered to more closely resemble the actors. Khan's chest and arms appear to have been untouched. See my comparison images below.

I have no info on the artist responsible for this re-paint / re-touch, or why it was done.

In this next newspaper ad, Peak's rendering of the Enterprise has been isolated, and "USS Enterprise" has been added to the rim of the saucer section (click to enlarge). [Image source.]

Other Concepts

Peak explored other concepts for the STII poster art. This sketch features a more enigmatic Khan — in the face mask he wears briefly on Ceti Alpha V — looming over a glowing Genesis device and bust portraits of Kirk, Spock, and Saavik. This large (32" x 40") mixed media original piece sold at auction in 2018 for $14,400.

This next sketch moves closer to the imagery of the final poster — though Khan is still masked, Kirk and Spock are shown in more active poses, and we now see the inclusion of the Enterprise, which seems to be under fire from the Regula I space station (something that never happens in the film, though it may have been part of the plot at some point) — note the explosions on top of the Enterprise's saucer section.

The third preliminary sketch again prominently and fully features the Genesis device, an image that is entirely absent from the final poster art as we know it. Khan is unmasked, Admiral Kirk is armed with a flashlight this time, and the Enterprise is again under fire from Regula I. (In the final poster art, it is the ship that is firing on the station, which is an event that, again, does not occur in the film.)

In discussing this artwork, we must also recognize Spiros Angelikas, designer and owner of the Spiros Associates design firm, for his art direction. Art like this for a major studio production is typically a collaborative process, and Angelikas worked alongside Bob Peak on the poster art and design for the first several Star Trek films and many others. For further reading on Mr. Angelikas, check out this post at TrekCore.

Merchandise

Unlike Peak's key art for Star Trek: The Motion Picture, this art was not used for the contemporary soundtrack LP album art, nor the novelization cover. The art was later used for certain VHS, LaserDisc, DVD, and blu-ray case sleeves / inserts.

Star Trek: The Motion Picture - Bob Peak Art

This key art for Star Trek: The Motion Picture (TMP) is by one of the all-time great movie poster artists, Bob Peak (artist signature on the lower right side of the image). This art was used for TMP’s theatrical poster campaigns around the world (many of which you can view here), as well as for newspaper ads, movie tie-in merchandise, and the covers/sleeves for various home video releases. A few examples of these can be found at the bottom of this post. Be sure to click the images above and below for hi-resolution versions! 

Rare Variants

Recently I located a couple of rare variations of this art which I've never seen anywhere else, via Van Eaton Galleries.

This is a rare instance of this art wherein the film's logotype and its "glow" are not directly beneath the Enterprise (this layout appears on at least one billboard design). The auction listing describes the image above as follows: "A large high-quality print of Bob Peak's poster artwork for Star Trek: The Motion Picture that has several original airbrushed enhancements. From the collection of Bill Wallen, this artwork was created to help promote the theatrical release of the film. The most noticeable portions of original airbrush are around the "Star Trek: The Motion Picture" text, and in the color under the Starship Enterprise. The artwork has an image size of 20"x24" and is adhered to a 22"x28" board."

The second image (below) is in black-and-white, and features the rainbow beams without Kirk, Ilia, and Spock, keeping the Enterprise and the "title glow" with no title. I speculate that it may be a preliminary sketch, as the Enterprise is less detailed than it is in the final art.

The auction listing describes the image above as follows: A very rare black and white photo print of Bob Peak's iconic artwork from the Star Trek: The Motion Picture movie poster. From the collection of Bill Wallen, this large print offers a scarcely seen view of Peak's artwork for the poster without the images of Kirk, Spock, and Ilia, nor the film's title. The artwork was printed and adhered to art board for use in the creation of promotional artwork for the film, and features the hand-written note "Original Art A" along the bottom of the board. The artwork has an image size of 20"x16" on its 26"x18.25" board.

Iconic LE Prints

In June 2018, a company called Iconic LE Prints produced a licensed, limited edition run of 24 x 36 serigraphs (silk-screen print) of Peak's original key art for TMP, both with and without title text. The titled print run was limited to 100, with the text-free variant limited to 50 prints.

Note that Peak's first composition differs from the final art, most notably in that the position of Kirk and Spock are flipped. In the final version most of us are familiar with, Kirk is on the left and Spock is on the right; in Peak's first composition, reproduced by Iconic LE, Kirk was on the right and Spock on the left. Iconic LE states that "William Shatner preferred to be featured on the left side of the rainbow beam and so the studio edited Peak’s artwork to accommodate this." The part about Shatner may be true, but it is obvious that the final art is a re-paint by Peak, not a simple "edit." There are many differences between the three portraits (especially Spock's facial expression), their relative sizes, the rainbow beams, the title glow, Peak's signature (color and placement), and the Enterprise (merely flipping this design would change the orientation of the starship and the light beams which emanate from it). In the GIF below, I have flipped the first Peak composition (Iconic LE's edition) so you can more easily compare and contrast those details.

Facial Expressions

I believe Kirk and Spock's facial expressions in Peak's artwork are based on this publicity photo.

Other Concepts

Peak explored other concepts for the TMP poster art. This one involved Kirk, Spock, and Ilia emerging from one of the newly-designed Enterprise corridors and stepping out onto V'Ger's "surface" as seen in the film. Below are a preliminary sketch and a finished painting for this concept.

Another concept sketch, below, features side profiles of Kirk, Spock, and Ilia along with the Enterprise. Note that the titles and tagline here seem to have been cut-and-pasted onto the art from other final materials, indicating that the marketing design process must have been well underway when this image was produced.

In discussing this artwork, we must also recognize Spiros Angelikas, designer and owner of the Spiros Associates design firm, for his art direction. Art like this for a major studio production is typically a collaborative process, and Angelikas worked alongside Bob Peak on the poster art and design for the first several Star Trek films and many others. For further reading on Mr. Angelikas, check out this post at TrekCore.

Merchandise

This art was used in many applications in the film's marketing. Below are just a few examples.