The artist behind the movie franchise posters you love has died at 78: NPR

Drew Struzan, the artist behind the posters for several iconic films and franchises, including Star Wars, Indiana JonesAnd Harry Potterdied Monday at the age of 78, after a a battle lasting several years suffering from Alzheimer’s disease.

A statement published on the illustrator’s official website Instagram page announced Struzan’s passing: “It is with a heavy heart that I must announce that Drew Struzan passed away yesterday, October 13. I think 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 for not only major blockbuster hits such as The Empire Strikes Back And AND The Extraterrestrial but also cult classics like Blade Runner And The Thing.

Tributes to Struzan’s legacy have flooded social media since news of his death broke. Jim Leecreative director and publisher of DC Comics, wrote on Instagram: “His work captured the humanity, power and emotion of his subjects in a way never seen since. Thank you for bringing to life all the highlights of my childhood and beyond.”

Filmmaker Guillermo del Toro published on Blue sky“The world has lost a great man, a genius communicator and a supreme artist. I have lost a friend – the beloved Drew.”

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

Struzan’s works, known for their lush realism and colorful palette, seemed to promise viewers a journey into an exciting new world that Spielberg “almost had to live up to,” the director explained in the 2013 documentary. Drew: the man behind the poster.

Struzan himself, speaking about his work, said that he did not want to reveal too much about this world.

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

Struzan did not prioritize his work. “If I had a favorite, I would have already done my best,” he said. Los Angeles Magazine in 2013. “My favorite is always the next one.”

Story edited by Jennifer Vanasco.