Drew Struzan, Iconic STAR WARS, BACK TO THE FUTURE Poster Artist, Dies at 78

by

Drew Struzan, the celebrated artist known for his unforgettable movie posters, has died at the age of 78. While the cause of death hasn’t been released, he had been living with Alzheimer’s Disease for several years. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Struzan was often called the “King of the Movie Poster,” and deservedly so. Over his long career, he created posters for beloved films like *Star Wars*, *Indiana Jones*, and the *Back to the Future* trilogy, among many others. For many, his paintings are how they picture the characters from these classic movies.

Drew Struzan started his incredibly productive career in the 1970s, initially designing album covers, including one for Alice Cooper’s *Welcome to My Nightmare*. He moved into film posters, working on many low-budget sci-fi movies. However, he became truly famous in 1978 with his poster for the re-release of *Star Wars*. Its unique style, inspired by old circus posters, quickly became a classic. George Lucas loved it so much that Lucasfilm hired Struzan for multiple projects. He went on to paint the original teaser poster for *Revenge of the Jedi* (before the title was changed) and created the iconic posters for *Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom* and *The Last Crusade*.

Drew Struzan became famous for his movie posters, especially his work on Back to the Future and its sequels. Throughout the 1980s, he created memorable posters for many popular films, including Blade Runner, The Thing, E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial, Big Trouble in Little China, Coming to America, First Blood, Risky Business, Masters of the Universe, and The Goonies. He also designed posters for Jim Henson’s Muppet films, beginning with The Muppet Movie. In the 1990s, some of his most recognizable posters were for Hook, Hocus Pocus, and The Shawshank Redemption.

As a lifelong cinema fan, I always loved Drew Struzan’s work. He really became *the* artist for *Star Wars* in the ‘90s, starting with the posters for the updated 1997 releases. He even did the cover art for a bunch of *Star Wars* novels back then. And he illustrated all the posters for the prequel films too! Moving into the 2000s, he created the US posters for films like *Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone* and *Hellboy*, and he did one final *Indiana Jones* poster for *Kingdom of the Crystal Skull*. I heard he started winding down a bit around then, but he came back to do a gorgeous special poster for *The Force Awakens* in 2015, which was a real treat for fans like me.

Drew Struzan’s artwork was unforgettable. He and artists like Bob Peak, Richard Amsel, and John Alvin created movie posters by hand, relying on their skill and creativity – without any computers. Starting in the 1990s, this type of illustrated poster art began to disappear, replaced by images created with Photoshop. Today, it’s become a nearly lost skill. Marvel Studios, like most major film studios, now almost exclusively uses digital techniques for their posters. As a result, few can match the artistic quality of someone like Drew Struzan. He is survived by his wife, Dylan, his son, Christian, and his grandchildren.

Read More

2025-10-14 22:33