“Futureworld” (未来世界 / DELOSWORLD), Rare Original Japanese First-Release Movie Poster 1977, B1 Size (c. 72 × 103 cm) JA24

This is an original Japanese B1 theatrical poster produced for the first Japanese release of Futureworld in 1977. Directed by Richard T. Heffron, the film stars Peter Fonda, Blythe Danner, Arthur Hill, John Ryan, Stuart Margolin, with Yul Brynner returning in a special appearance as the Gunslinger from Westworld. The film opened theatrically in Japan on 18 June 1977, distributed by Toho-Towa.

A sequel to Michael Crichton’s groundbreaking Westworld, Futureworld expands the original film’s concept of the Delos amusement park into a much larger conspiracy thriller. Rather than simply asking what happens when sophisticated androids malfunction, the sequel imagines a corporation using perfect artificial replicas of influential human beings to manipulate the outside world.

Design

This is an exceptionally elaborate Japanese large-format montage design, considerably more information-rich than many of the film’s international campaigns.

The poster is organised into a dramatic three-column structure, with the central panel functioning as the principal image and the two outer columns presenting a sequence of photographic scenes from the film.

Dominating the centre is Peter Fonda, his face partially transformed by exposed mechanical circuitry and an artificial eye. The imagery immediately expresses the film’s central anxiety: the boundary between human being and manufactured duplicate.

The portrait is framed by the dark technological architecture of Delos, while tiny white-clad figures gather beneath him, giving the central image an eerie laboratory quality.

Across the upper centre appears the superb Japanese campaign line:

「この世界に もう一人のあなたがいる！」

— “There is another you in this world!”

Beneath it, the accompanying copy promises:

「卓抜なアイデアと20億の巨費を投じて描く 恐るべき戦慄のSF超大作！」

— approximately:

“A terrifying science-fiction epic of suspense, created from an extraordinary idea on an enormous scale!”

The wording perfectly captures the film’s obsession with duplication, identity and technological control.

The left and right columns contain eight individual film stills, creating an almost magazine-like visual survey of the production.

These include the enormous machinery of Delos, laboratory interiors, futuristic control rooms, medical experiments, Peter Fonda and Blythe Danner together, the elaborate recreation areas of the park, and the return of Yul Brynner’s black-clad Gunslinger.

The result is wonderfully characteristic of 1970s Japanese science-fiction advertising: generous amounts of imagery, explanatory copy, technical spectacle and bold typography combined into a single information-dense composition.

DELOSWORLD / 未来世界

The lower portion is particularly striking.

Above the enormous Japanese title appears:

DELOSWORLD

in a dramatic yellow-to-red gradient.

Below it, the Japanese title:

未来世界

— Futureworld —

explodes across the entire width of the sheet in immense angular red characters.

Although the film’s original English title is Futureworld, the prominent use of DELOSWORLD directly references the fictional Delos corporation and its network of technologically advanced amusement worlds.

The deep navy-black background provides exceptional contrast for the vivid red and yellow typography, giving the lower section tremendous impact at B1 scale.

Film background

Several years after the catastrophe at Westworld, the Delos corporation has rebuilt and reopened its extraordinarily sophisticated resort.

Determined to convince the public that the new Delos is completely safe, the company invites politicians, dignitaries and members of the international press to inspect the facility.

Newspaper reporter Chuck Browning, played by Peter Fonda, and television journalist Tracy Ballard, played by Blythe Danner, arrive already suspicious of the corporation.

Their investigation gradually uncovers a far more disturbing plan than anything in the original film: Delos is creating android duplicates of powerful and influential guests, with the intention of replacing the human originals and extending the corporation’s influence far beyond the amusement park itself.

The concept gives Futureworld a distinctly different character from Westworld. Where the first film is fundamentally a technological survival thriller, the sequel moves toward corporate conspiracy, cloning, surveillance and the fear that an artificial copy could become indistinguishable from the person it replaces.

Yul Brynner and the Gunslinger

One of the film’s most memorable links to Westworld is the return of Yul Brynner as the Gunslinger.

His appearance is deliberately limited and dreamlike rather than functioning as a straightforward continuation of his original antagonist, but his presence provided the sequel with an immediate visual and thematic connection to the 1973 film.

The Japanese campaign makes excellent use of that connection, prominently including Brynner imagery among the surrounding stills while keeping Peter Fonda’s altered face as the central focus of the new story.

The B1 format

The Japanese B1 measures approximately 72.8 × 103 cm, giving it roughly twice the printed surface area of the standard Japanese B2 movie poster.

B1 sheets were intended for larger, high-impact theatrical displays, and are encountered substantially less frequently than the smaller B2 format.

This particular design benefits enormously from the added scale.

The extremely detailed side panels remain easy to examine, while the central cyborg portrait and enormous 未来世界 title become genuinely imposing at more than one metre tall.

The combination of original Japanese first-release provenance, rare B1 format, elaborate Japan-market artwork and classic 1970s science-fiction subject matter makes this a particularly strong display piece.

Condition

Excellent condition overall.

This is a particularly well-preserved example retaining deep, saturated navy and black tones, vivid red and yellow typography and excellent photographic definition throughout the numerous individual film stills.

The central Peter Fonda portrait remains exceptionally crisp, while the enormous 未来世界 title retains excellent colour and contrast.

The reverse is very clean overall, showing only modest handling and storage character consistent with an original large-format theatrical poster approaching fifty years of age.

At full B1 scale the poster has tremendous presence and once professionally framed will display superbly.

Please review all photographs carefully; they show the exact poster for sale, front and back.

This is an original Japanese B1 theatrical poster from the film’s first Japanese release in 1977.
It is not a reproduction or a reprint.

It is approximately 49 years old.

Certificate of Authenticity included.