ST First Official photo with completed effects will be?

No they don't. There's plenty of characters in & outside the film they can sell. Especially if his appearance is a spoiler in & of itself. They can always release an actual EP7 character figure of Luke after the film launches.

 

It just seems unlikely to me that they wouldn't. Especially given the fact that the film releases exactly one week before Christmas. If it was being released in May, I could see them releasing the figure a few months after. But if they don't release it alongside the film, they're just losing out on potential merchandise sales.

 

And they very well might release a EP7 LUKE action figure before its release. But that's not actually Mark Hamill playing Luke. It's an action figure. I would think the smartest thing that JJ can do is save his reveal for the actual film. No early pics of him. No early footage of him.

 

It'll be a picture of a cyborg.

 

You're fired! Lay your badge & gun on my desk!

 

Or Luke's severed hand! Imagine asking for that for Christmas.

 

I can picture it panning down in space and see John Boyega ship crashing on Tatooine if some of these rumors are to be believed. Of course for all we know It could be Jar Jar's grocery list.

 

I think that the only reason for hiding his appearance would be if there was something about it that was somehow a spoiler. Otherwise it's good marketing. Even if we don't see him on screen until near the end of the film we could have a few brief clips of him in captivity/hiding in the trailer without ruining the surprise. I think most people would be disappointed and suspicious if he doesn't appear at all.

 

I think most people would get over it by next December.

 

That's not the point. Marketing is designed to get people who aren't megafans like us to go see the film. Anyone who's a member of this site is going to see it anyway regardless of how bad its reviews are. And while the name brand of Star Wars is a major selling point not putting the effort into promoting it in the assumption that people will show up anyway is just asking for trouble, and it's not a mistake that a company like Disney is likely to make. It also ignores the marketing angle, and being Christmastime that's an even bigger deal. We're talking Luke cups, toys, posters; his face will be plastered on every promotional item they can find. He's a popular character so this will make them big money in a way that the newbies might not. At least not until the next film. So why on Earth, unless his very appearance is a spoiler of ESB proportions, would they not show him at all? It doesn't make any sense.

 

So the big deciding factor on whether kids or the general audience goes & sees this movie lives or dies with marketing Luke? Aren't Han, Leia, Chewie, & the droids in this movie as well? Not to mention, a plethora of new characters?

 

The are plenty of things that shout STAR WARS to general audiences. X-wings, TIE fighters, lightsabers, and stormtroopers are all immediately recognizable to just about everybody.

Though I do expect lots and lots of Harrison Ford.

 

They will be marketing the big three characters more than anyone else. They're a known quantity and fans have been waiting years for this. And of the three Luke is perhaps second most beloved after Han. But seriously, what possible reason would they have for avoiding showing him? I can't think of a single good reason except for the aforementioned cyborg angle.

 

A tauntaun freezing before it reaches the first marker.