Drew Struzan

Drew Struzan, the artist behind film posters for "Star Wars," "Indiana Jones," and "Back to the Future," died October 13, 2025. He was 78. In March 2025, his wife, author Dylan Struzan, shared that he had been living with Alzheimer's disease for several years. A cause of death was not immediately available.

Born March 18, 1947, in Oregon City, Oregon, Struzan trained at ArtCenter College of Design and began his career illustrating album covers. Early assignments included Alice Cooper, the Beach Boys, and the Bee Gees.

He moved into movie advertising in the mid-1970s, breaking out with the 1978 rerelease poster for "Star Wars." In it, he deftly captured the look and feel of the film's action, setting himself up to become a favorite of filmmaker George Lucas.

Across five decades, he created more than 150 posters, among them "E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial," "Blade Runner," "The Goonies," "First Blood," "The Shawshank Redemption," "The Thing," and "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone." His luminous airbrush technique and deft pencil detail became synonymous with blockbuster storytelling.

He collaborated frequently with Lucas and Steven Spielberg, also designing the logo for Industrial Light & Magic. He occasionally returned from his 2008 retirement for special projects, including "Star Wars: The Force Awakens" and a book cover of Stephen King's "The Dark Tower."

Honors included the Saturn Award (2002), the Inkpot Award (2010), the Saul Bass Award (2014), and induction into the Society of Illustrators Hall of Fame (2020).

Struzan's posters did more than market films; they shaped how audiences remember them. Colleagues across the industry, as well as longtime fans, hailed him this week as a giant whose images carried warmth, wonder, and narrative power.

He is survived by his wife, Dylan; son, Christian; and grandchildren.

By Legacy News Staff

(Image: Omar Vega/Invision for The Hollywood Reporter/AP Images)