Odds are you’ve seen Drew Struzan’s work sooner or later. The artist and illustrator was chargeable for a few of the most iconic film posters round. From Star Wars to The Shawshank Redemption, he elevated the promotional advertising format right into a pop artwork kind few have been in a position to match. He handed away earlier this week on the age of 78.
His profession began with album artwork for teams like The Seaside Boys and Earth, Wind & Hearth, earlier than he moved on to creating the airbrushed one-sheets for films that might make him well-known within the late ’70s. His spouse revealed earlier this year that he was affected by Alzheimer’s illness.
“Drew made event art,” Steven Spielberg stated in a press release (through Variety). “His posters made many of our movies into destinations…and the memory of those movies and the age we were when we saw them always comes flashing back just by glancing at his iconic photorealistic imagery. In his own invented style, nobody drew like Drew.”
RIP to absolutely the grasp, Drew Struzan pic.twitter.com/jf2OFBwwzg
— N E E D L E (@needledesign) October 14, 2025
RIP Drew Struzan pic.twitter.com/VxBVbouc0R
— 70s Sci-Fi Artwork (@70sscifi) October 14, 2025
RIP to the most effective that ever did it. Drew Struzan; 1947 – 2025 https://t.co/A7mFidhlCT
— Del (@TheCartelDel) October 14, 2025
His well-known designs included work for films as disparate as The Empire Strikes Again, Goonies, The Factor, Blade Runner, and Dangerous Enterprise. His fashion collapsed photo-realistic portraiture into dense and dramatic compositions that married the deeply private and the fantastical.
His lasting affect on cowl artwork of every type is immeasurable, together with in video video games. There are clear nods to his airbrush fashion and framing within the field artwork for the unique Death Stranding, and Judas director Ken Levine stated Struzan’s work was a direct inspiration for the important thing artwork for the upcoming sci-fi immersive sim.
“A giant among giants,” wrote DC’s Jim Lee in response to Struzan’s passing (through Hollywood Reporter). “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.”
Should you’ve visited a movie show within the final decade, you may really feel the shadow solid by Struzan’s absence on the foyer partitions. Among the posters are advantageous. Virtually all of them are forgettable. Now with the rise of AI, Hollywood appears to have much less of an urge for food than ever for making an attempt to deal with its largest releases with a human contact. Because of the streaming revolution, films are not a vacation spot, and Struzan’s artwork feels as very similar to a relic because the stuff in these crates on the finish of Raiders of the Misplaced Ark.
