Remembering Drew Struzan: the artist behind the greatest movie poster ever made

Today we lost one of the greatest. Legendary movie poster artist Drew Struzan he died at the age of 78. His death was confirmed on his official Instagram account with the message:

“It is with a heavy heart that I must tell you that Drew Struzan left this world as of yesterday, October 13th. I feel it is important for you all to know how many times he expressed to me the joy he felt knowing how much you appreciated his art.” – Greg

That “Greg” is probably Greg Boas, producer of the 2013 documentary Drew: The man behind the posterwhich chronicled Struzan’s extraordinary career and featured appearances by Steven Spielberg, George LucasAND Guillermo del Toro.

These directors, each a titan of cinema in their own right, spoke with deep admiration for a man whose work helped define the visual identity of their films and, in many ways, modern cinema itself.

I’ve been a fan of Drew Struzan’s art since I was a child. His posters weren’t just marketing material, they were pure cinematic magic captured on paper. As a teenager I started collecting his posters, and it’s one of the main reasons why I continue to collect posters of various artists to this day.

Struzan began his professional career in the 1970s, illustrating album covers for bands such as The Beach Boys, The Bee Gees, Black Sabbath and Alice Cooper before moving on to film posters.

In 1977 he was hired to create a new design for the re-release of Star Warswhich led to his famous “Circus” poster. Speaking about the original creation, Drew said: “When we received the data, we found that there wasn’t enough room for all the credits, so we had to find a way to make more room.

“We thought, ‘Why don’t we take what we already have and paint it so it looks like it’s been posted on top of other posters?’ This gave us the extra space we needed for bottom billing. It was a case where necessity was the mother of invention.”

From there his brushstrokes became part of the history of cinema. Blade Runner, Indiana Jones, The Goonies, The thing, ET,Back to the futurehis work captured adventure, mystery, and emotion with a warmth and texture that no Photoshop could ever replicate. His style became the standard that everyone else tried to emulate.

He also made his mark on comic book culture, creating covers for Action Comics, Daredevil, and Star Wars, further merging the cinematic and illustrated worlds that defined geek culture.

Struzan retired in 2008 after working Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skullalthough he couldn’t stay away from his art for long. He came out of retirement a few times creating art for The Dark Tower, Start Batkid, Star Wars: The Force AwakensAND How to train your dragon.

Even as the industry has shifted toward digital art, Struzan’s hand-painted style has remained timeless, a reminder of what real art looks like.

He also collaborated with his wife, Dylan Struzanillustrating his 2019 book A bloody affair. The pair shared a deep creative partnership that spanned decades.

Earlier this year, Dylan shared an update on his health, revealing that Drew had been battling Alzheimer’s disease for several years. His heartfelt message offered a glimpse into their love and the painful reality of his illness:

“Good morning everyone. I am Drew’s wife, Dylan Struzan. I come to you with a heavy heart. Several years ago, Drew was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease… Drew can no longer paint or sign things for you. He is not enjoying a well-earned retirement, but rather fighting for his life.”

He went on to describe his struggle and their lasting bond:

“He hears all the comments you have left here on these pages. It encourages him… Drew left a strong legacy of love and joy in the form of his work. It has always been a love letter of sorts. His goal was to make the earth a better place to live by creating something beautiful. But like a flower, his season is ending.”

Dylan continued, reflecting on Drew’s influence as both an artist and a human being:

“They call it the humanities because it is something unique to our species. Art is meant to be enjoyed. Drew always wanted his work to be uplifting. From your comments, I believe he succeeded. His mission has always been to advance art, being deeply influenced by the great artist and his professor at the Art Center, Lorser Feitelson, who introduced him to Modernism… Drew was also influenced by the Impressionists… His drawing skills were influenced by artists of the caliber of Michelangelo and Pontormo and those of the Italian Renaissance.”

Drew Struzan’s legacy is everywhere. It is in the lobby of every nostalgic theater, on the wall of every collector, in the heart of every fan who has fallen in love with his art. His posters told stories. They were portraits of the imagination, painted by a man who understood the soul of cinema.

For me and countless others, Drew’s work wasn’t just art, it was inspiration. It made us fall in love with film before we even saw a single frame of it.

Rest in peace, Drew. Your brush has shaped the dreams of generations, and your art will forever remind us why we love movies.

The poster above was created by the artist Kyle Lambert.