Drew Struzan, artist of iconic movie posters, dies at 78

Drew Struzan, the artist behind the posters for several iconic films and franchises, including Star Wars, Indiana Jones, and Harry Potter, died on Monday at the age of 78, after a years-long battle with Alzheimer’s disease.

A statement posted on the illustrator’s official Instagram page announced Struzan’s passing: “It is with a heavy heart that I must tell you that Drew Struzan has moved on from this world as of yesterday, October 13th. I feel it is important that you all know how many times he expressed to me the joy he felt knowing how much you appreciated his art.”

Dylan Struzan, Drew’s wife, confirmed the artist’s death to NPR.

Struzan frequently collaborated with filmmakers Steven Spielberg and George Lucas, designing the posters not only for big, blockbuster hits such as The Empire Strikes Back and E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial but also cult classics like Blade Runner and The Thing. 

Tributes to Struzan’s legacy have flooded social media since the announcement of his passing. Jim Lee, chief creative officer and publisher of DC Comics, wrote on Instagram, “His work captured the humanity, power and emotion of his subjects in ways not seen since. Thank you for bringing to life all the tentpole moments of my childhood and beyond.”

Filmmaker Guillermo del Toro posted on Bluesky, “The world lost a genial man, a genius communicator and a supreme artist. I lost a friend – beloved Drew.”

Born in Oregon in 1947, Struzan moved to Los Angeles in the 1960s to pursue a degree at the Art Center College of Design in Pasadena. He began his career by designing album covers for bands such as the Bee Gees and Earth, Wind & Fire. In 1978, his career was jumpstarted when Lucasfilm asked him to co-design a new poster for the re-release of the first Star Wars film. His ability to express the sense of adventure so crucial to the moviegoing experience eventually made Struzan a legend in the film industry.

Struzan’s artwork, known for lush realism and a colorful palette, seemed to promise viewers a trip to an exciting new world that Spielberg “had to almost live up to,” the director shared in the 2013 documentary Drew: The Man Behind the Poster. 

Struzan himself, when talking about his work, said he didn’t want to give too much of that world away.

“Telling the story in a poster is wrong for a movie,” Struzan said in an interview with the online movie news site Slashfilm in 2021. “I wasn’t looking to tell a story. I’m looking to give a person a feeling about something they could hope for… I design a composition that is open-ended. Not closed-ended saying, ‘This is what you have to think about this.’ Open-ended means the viewer explores the subject from their point of view. I love when that happens.”

Struzan didn’t play favorites with his work. “If I had a favorite, then I would have already done the best I can do,” he told Los Angeles Magazine in 2013. “My favorite is always the very next one.”

Story edited by Jennifer Vanasco.