Starman, to prove he could branch out beyond horror.
He later re-teamed with regular leading man Kurt Russell for 1986's Top Gun and The Karate Kid Part II.
Part of the reason Aliens that summer and decided to focus their energies on that, and only allotted a merger marketing budget for Big Trouble In Little China.
Neither Kurt Russell nor John Carpenter were happy about 20th Century Fox's marketing plan, which involved running big banner ads in newspaper priors to Big Trouble In Little China's release. The issue with this campaign was the failed attempt at building mystery, with artwork depicting a likeness of Russell with questions asking "Who is Jack Burton?" The trailers took the same approach, trying to give Jack an Indiana Jones mystique as characters constantly ask who he is before the promo declares he's coming to save the summer.
On Big Trouble In Little China's commentary track Kurt Russell's recalled with amusement seeing these ads, which posed questions like "Who is this?" and "Where is he going?" with the actor declaring most people's reactions were "Who gives a s**t? I don't know who that is and I don't care." He also compared his likeness in these ads and on the poster to that of Jeff Bridges, and in the end, this campaign did little to drum up excitement for Big Trouble In Little China.
