Exclusive Interview: Chris Weston On His (Unauthorised) ‘Rogue Trooper’ Movie Poster For Duncan Jones

The Rogue Trooper animated sci-fi movie from Rebellion and Liberty Films is coming soon, looking rather good. As part of the production, director Duncan Jones commissioned Chris Weston to create a very special (although very unofficial) movie poster. And here, we have the exclusive tale of its creation …

It’s something that happens pretty regularly with movies, with the director directly commissioning some exclusive artwork for the project. And so it is with the new Rogue Trooper movie, where Jones, Rogue‘s director, got in touch with Paulo Rivera and Weston to make a couple of completely unauthorised movie posters.

These are personal things, a commission between the artist and the movie director. It’s something that may well have been, in olden days, kept completely under wraps, just the cast and crew getting to enjoy the artwork. But we’re not in the olden days, and of course, the posters found their way onto social media and the Internet.

So, given that they’re out there, we thought it would be good to chat to Weston about what went into creating this very unofficial movie poster.

If you don’t already know, the Rogue Trooper movie comes out later this year, a CGI movie written and directed by Duncan Jones (Moon, Source Code, Warcraft, and Mute), it features Dunkirk star Aneurin Barnard as Rogue, with other cast members including Hayley Atwell, Reece Shearsmith, Matt Berry, Jemaine Clement, and Sean Bean. Rogue Trooper comes from Rebellion and Liberty Films, produced by Stuart Fenegan, Jason Kingsley, Chris Kingsley and Duncan Jones.

Co-created by artist Dave Gibbons and Gerry Finley-Day, Rogue’s a genetically-engineered future soldier, created to survive in the poisoned battlegrounds of Nu-Earth in a never-ending war between the Norts and the Southers. But, following the actions of the traitor General that wiped out his fellow GIs, this Trooper’s on his own personal revenge mission.

So, with all that in mind, time to talk to Chris Weston …

Richard Bruton: Hi, Chris, first of all, how did this unofficial Rogue Trooper movie poster come about?

Chris Weston: Duncan Jones, the director, was personally commissioning this poster, alongside one by Paulo Rivera (who used to paint the covers for a Marvel comic I drew called The Twelve).

Bruton: Oh, The Twelve, where you had Chris’s art accompanying J. Michael Straczynski’s scripts. It’s a very different take on superheroes, and it looks, as you’d expect, pretty damn gorgeous. It’s been criminally overlooked, go check it out.

So, seeing as you did this unofficial poster commission for Duncan Jones, does that mean you’ve had a sneak peek at the finished film? Anything you fancy telling us? (Well, it’s worth a try!)

Weston: ‎I’ve seen an unfinished version of the film. A lot of it hadn’t been fully rendered yet; the textures and lighting hadn’t been applied. Also, I think some of the scenes I watched have been rewritten since, and new scenes added. But, that said, it was still looking great, even in its unfinished state.

Bruton: So, given that you’ve seen that unfinished version of the movie, do you reckon it’s lived up to all you were hoping for in a Rogue Trooper movie?

Weston: Oh, Duncan has delivered everything I’d want from a Rogue Trooper movie and added a couple of good twists too. I’m not allowed to go into details! What impressed me most was the banter between Rogue and his Biochip buddies: it feels very authentically “military”. As an Army Brat, I can confirm that Duncan has really captured the way soldiers talk to each other (including the constant piss-taking)!

Bruton: Okay then, seeing as we’re not going to get much more out of you about the movie itself, let’s change things up and talk about what Rogue means to you. What were your first memories of seeing the character? CW:

Weston: I’m long-time 2000 AD, so I can remember that very first pin-up that Dave Gibbons drew to promote the series. This was our first look at the character, and I was hooked instantly.

Bruton: That would be this one, Dave Gibbons’ great teaser image from 2000 AD Prog 216, just before Rogue’s first appearance in Prog 228…

Weston: I was a huge Dave Gibbons fan, so it was an absolute delight to get an all-new strip off the art-droid. Eventually, Dave decamped to the US Comics scene, but Tharg didn’t have any problem finding worthy successors in Cam Kennedy and Colin Wilson, both of whom did amazing work on the strip.

Bruton: So, given that Rogue first appeared an incredible 45 years back in 1981, what is it about the character that simply refuses to die, the thing that keeps Rogue coming back into 2000 AD, so many years after his story seemed to have been all told?

Weston: It’s Rogue’s world that continues to be the big draw. Like Mega-City (for Dredd), or Gotham (for Batman), Nu-Earth really is the lead character of the story. It’s a​n infinite, poisoned, wreckage-strewn and ravaged hell-hole. It’s every war in history rolled into one, right back to the Napoleonic era and earlier. Anything a writer wants to say about the horrors of war could be used in a story set on this planet. Unlike Nu Earth itself, it’s very fertile ground, story-wise.

Bruton: As an artist yourself, and a damn fine one, do you have a particular favourite artist for Rogue?

Weston: I have so many favourite Rogue artists. I’ve already mentioned The Governor, Dave Gibbons and his immediate successors, Colin Wilson and Cam Kennedy. Cam, in particular, drew a really dynamic Rogue. His athletic version of Rogue had so much weight and motion; the pictures almost looked like they were moving. One image he drew from his time on the strip genuinely rates as one of the best panels in comic strip history (Prog 288).

Bruton: Again, that would be this one… art by Cam Kennedy…

Weston: Colin Wilson brought a European vibe to the strip, and he excelled in hardware and atmosphere. No one could draw a wrecked tank better than Colin. But since then, there have been lots of great depictions of Rogue; Steve Dillon did some fantastic work for the strip. José Ortiz‘s run on Rogue was excellent. Will Simpson‘s alternative version of Rogue, War Machine was fabulous. More recently, Staz Johnson and Patrick Goddard have done brilliant art for the strip. We’re truly blessed.

Bruton: Of course, one of those Rogue artists is yourself – although you’re far too modest to include yourself in there as one of the many greats who’ve drawn the character! So, given that you’ve done a few Rogue tales yourself, would you fancy doing more?

Weston: Yes, please! Like all 2000 AD characters I’ve drawn, I still don’t think I’ve ever done Rogue Trooper right yet. It definitely feels like “unfinished business,” so I’d relish another go.

Bruton: Okay then, let’s do a little deep dive on the unofficial poster you created for Duncan here. It’s a classic Rogue look that, if we’re not mistaken, is actually based on one of your own?

Weston: The inspiration for my Rogue Trooper movie poster came from a drawing of Rogue I’d done that appeared in the 2000 AD 1989 Winter Special. It’s not an especially well‑drawn piece of art- none of my early work is- but, for some reason, this image has proven quite popular. It was re-used on the cover of The Best of 2000 AD and on the cover of a Rogue Trooper collection.

And here they are…

Weston: I thought it would be fun to revisit the same pose, only this time make Rogue look marginally more anatomically correct. As this was designed to promote the film, I added loads more elements from the movie into the design. Originally, the composition was based around the Southside emblem, but that been a bit hidden by all the characters I’ve crammed into. I’m a big fan of old James Bond movie posters, like the one for Live and Let Die by Robert McGinnis, that ram in as many scenes from the film as possible… and also take a few artistic liberties with the material too.

Bruton: Okay, so here’s the first rough, along with the colour version that Chris sent to Duncan…

Bruton: Of course, as any artist will tell you, those that commission art get to request a few changes…

Weston: Duncan asked me for a quick change: to include the Mech-suit worn by Matt Berry’s Mister Bland…

Bruton: So, you’ve sent over the rough in b&w and colour, what was next?

Weston: Once Duncan was happy with the rough, I re-drew it in my typically high-detailed style. It was hand-drawn in felt pens on A2-sized smooth cartridge paper.

Weston: Then began the slow process of digitally colouring the scanned art. This was supposed to be blown up to US 1-sheet in size, 27×41 inches, so the art file was of an incredibly high resolution. That’s a lot of pixels to push around.

We reckon Duncan Jones will be rather happy with that one! Thanks very much to Chris for sharing that with us. Again, a reminder, this is absolutely NOT the official movie poster, that will come later. This was just the director tapping up a couple of his favourite artists for his and their version of a movie poster for the character.

The Rogue Trooper movie comes out later in 2026. As you’d expect, there’s going to be a lot more Rogue coming in the months leading up to the movie’s release! Be sure to head to http://roguetrooper.com/ for more! And of course, you should all be diving into the collections of classic Rogue Trooper, available from your local comic shop and the 2000 AD web store.

As for Chris, his website’s here, and, should you wish to see some fine Chris Weston artwork (and you should, you really should), I’d recommend you take a look at the aforementioned The Twelve and The Filth (with Grant Morrison). And of course, he’s been involved with plenty of 2000 AD strips over the years, including Judge Dredd and Rogue Trooper. I’d say have a look at his and Rob Williams‘ Judge Dredd: Control collection from 2020 for a cracking bit of Weston-drawn Dredd.

Finally, we couldn’t leave you without showing you that other Rogue Trooper movie poster, another unofficial piece commissioned by Duncan Jones, this one by artist Paulo Rivera …