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The black British lead actor of the hotly-anticipated new Star Wars film has been virtually erased from a poster to promote the film in China.

The character of lightsaber-wielding Finn, portrayed by British actor John Boyega, 23, is far, far smaller in the Chinese poster than the UK version.

Instead, TIE fighters firing upon the Millennium Falcon take up the right side of the poster, while Boyega is tucked under Han Solo and Princess Leia - an odd choice as he’s the male lead of the hotly-anticipated sci-fi epic.

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There are other changes too. Chewbacca and Oscar Isaac’s Poe Dameron are missing, while droid BB-8 is much larger in the Chinese version.

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Twitter users were unimpressed, with one calling the decision to reduce the image of Boyega as “profoundly wrong” and another “horrific”.

A poster on a Star Wars forum wrote: "Every Asian poster for the film that I am aware of has decreased the size of Finn's image and or moved him further back into the background of the images of the posters."

"This is no mere coincidence," the fan continued. "This is how Asian markets treat characters played by black actors other than Will Smith. The fact that this way of doing business went over Westerners' heads is surprising."

The Mirror has contacted Star Wars owner Disney for a comment.

In a statement, John Hsu, of the Walt Disney Company, China, said: “We are thrilled to bring Star Wars: The Force Awakens to China on January 9,” said.

“We’re excited to be rolling out our marketing campaign and to connect with new fans in China through Star Wars: The Force Awakens.”

(Image: Disney)

When Star Wars hits cinemas later this month in the UK, Carrie Fisher will reprise her role as Princess Leia and Mark Hamill will also return as Luke Skywalker.

Star Wars: The Force Awakens is set for release worldwide on December 17.