Spider-Man: Far from Home

SteelBook Alert: Gone Too Far

SteelBook collectors take a risk every time they blind preorder an upcoming title before the finalized cover art is revealed. Sometimes it pays off with an attractive metal case. Not always, unfortunately.

Of course, the risk isn’t really too serious so long as you can still cancel the order and save your money before release date. Nevertheless, it’s disheartening to learn that a SteelBook you were looking forward to will look something like this first travesty.

Spider-Man: Far from Home

Video Formats: Blu-ray/Ultra HD
Available at: Best Buy (ORDER HERE)
Release date: TBD
Price: $34.99

Seriously, what the holy hell went wrong here?

Spider-Man: Far from Home 4k Ultra HD SteelBook

I haven’t especially been a fan of SteelBook cases with comic book art, but this can’t even rightly be called that. I don’t know what it is. It looks sort of like the terrible case art on a bad Super Nintendo-era video game. Did someone drag the guy who designed this out of retirement?

Time Trax SNES Game

The back cover’s even worse. A Czech site called Film Arena has an image of the whole case.

Video Formats: Blu-ray/3D/Ultra HD
Available at: Film Arena (ORDER HERE)
Release date: TBD
Price: 1,099 CZK / €44.01

For what it’s worth, the Czech listing claims to be a fully-stacked release with a 3D copy of the movie in addition to regular Blu-ray and Ultra HD. However, I know nothing about this retailer and can’t vouch for its reliability. Even if I could, this is what you’d get:

Spider-Man: Far from Home 4k Ultra HD SteelBook front & back

The most frustrating part of this for me personally is that I’d initially put in an order for the Zavvi SteelBook edition, which still only shows temp art, but canceled when Best Buy put up a listing. It’s unclear whether Zavvi will wind up with the same abomination or will get its own unique art. (Based on prior Marvel SteelBooks, it could go either way.) That’s sold out now anyway, so I guess I’m stuck with Best Buy or nothing.

I may prefer nothing, to be honest.

Spider-Man Update

Video Formats: Blu-ray/Ultra HD
Available at: Amazon Italy (ORDER HERE)
Release date: November 5, 2019
Price: €39.99

I’ve just discovered an alternate SteelBook available in Italy with artwork in a more traditional comic book style. Unfortunately, I’m not sure whether this can really be called “better.” I don’t like it much either.

Spider-Man: Far from Home Italian SteelBook front

Spider-Man: Far from Home Italian SteelBook open

Spider-Man: Far from Home Italian SteelBook inside

Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw

Video Formats: Blu-ray/Ultra HD
Available at: Best Buy (ORDER HERE)
Release date: TBD
Price: $34.99

The SteelBook for the Fast & Furious spinoff isn’t anywhere near as bad, fortunately. In fact, I’d go so far as to call it adequate, if a little generic. The wraparound effect with the motorcycle looks better with the case opened than it will closed, though. Looking at just the back cover alone will give you a sliver of motorcycle and a couple of palm trees shoved over to the right side with a bunch of empty space on the left, which is weird.

Still, it’s fine.

Hobbs & Shaw 4k Ultra HD SteelBook front

Hobbs & Shaw 4k Ultra HD SteelBook open

Hobbs & Shaw 4k Ultra HD SteelBook inside

(See my note in the Comments below about why the larger pictures have different bolding in the title font.)

Galaxy Quest

Video Formats: Blu-ray
Available at: Best Buy (ORDER HERE)
Release date: September 17, 2019
Price: $19.99

For the film’s 20th anniversary, Paramount will reissue the hilarious sci-fi spoof Galaxy Quest in a new SteelBook. From all the information available, this appears to be a simple repackage of the Blu-ray from 2009, with no remastering or new bonus features. That old disc seemed decent enough at the time, but the movie could undoubtedly benefit from a fresh film scan. That it didn’t get one is a missed opportunity.

I’m not sure how I feel about the overload of purple on the SteelBook. I know that many of the movie’s original posters had a purple theme, but not nearly this much. The image montage seems overly PhotoShopped as well.

Galaxy Quest SteelBook

11 comments

  1. Josh Zyber
    Author

    I just canceled my Spider-Man order. There’s no way I’m putting that on my shelf. Marvel movies inevitably get reissued in new SteelBooks at some point. I can wait.

    • Elizabeth

      It looks okay in the picture with the black title and Ultra HD banners, but rather horrible without them. And something about the cape on the back looks awfully vaginal to me.

  2. Elizabeth

    Is that supposed to be Zendaya there? Is there something in her contract that doesn’t allow realistic art of her?

  3. Judas Cradle

    How come the HOBBS and SHAW cover switched in your pictures?
    First it had FAST AND FURIOUS as the bold title- then HOBS AND SHAW as the bold title.
    Btw- Film Arena is one of the world’s premiere premium steelbook companies equal to Blufans, HDzeta, And Manta Lab.

  4. The top Far From Home example really is hideous. Wow, that Nintendo cover really does look like the same author. The back cover reminds be of a scene from a GI Joe cartoon. As a back cover, absolute crap. What look are they going for anyways? The sticker book you see sitting next to the coloring books at a local big-box store?

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