BTW won't the first one fit more as the main menu screen? The idea was the main menu. If the second suits the main menu better then it is pointless to let first render.
I don't know if it's pointless to render the first because I don't know the purpose of the image.
The second image (and third) are a simple character lineup. "Here's these people, get some initial impressions on them based on their clothing, posture, and expression" and that's about it. And more importantly, the second image had the three figures collected on one side of the image, allowing the other to be where a vertical menu is set.
The first image is an emotive image - a dark, cavernous room with two figures in it is going to evoke an emotional response, which is something you want and can pair with things like text and music to tell a story - though you could get it to stand on it's own as just an image. The important thing there is the posture and facial expressions. Is the woman a servant or a guide? Is she willing or unwilling? Is the man eager, tired, or distraught at his position? By just changing a few things in their posture you can create anything from an image where the woman is guiding the man towards some dark fate he can no longer avoid to the man and his eager sidekick ready to take on all who oppose them, and so on. It could even be just as simple as it's 6pm and they're waiting for the syndicated Simpsons episode to start.
Just strictly based on the composition and what it does for the viewer, the first image stands the best chance of being something that can stand on it's own with no other explanation(though those always help). It also stands the best chance of being able to tell a story on it's own as well. There's only a few places to go with a character lineup.