The movie industry is mourning the loss of an artist whose brushstrokes shaped the way generations remember their favorite films.
An industry legend known for his artwork on Hocus Pocus, Harry Potter, Indiana Jones, and Star Wars has tragically died at the age of 78.
Drew Struzan’s work defined how generations remember the biggest cinematic adventures.
From the galaxy far, far away to whip-cracking archeologists and evil witches, his artwork wasn’t just advertising. It was identity.
For millions of fans, the posters that hung outside theaters and video stores were their first taste of movie magic. His portraits of heroes and villains glowed with realism and drama, making audiences feel like the adventure began the moment they saw the artwork.
“He made event art,” Steven Spielberg said in tribute, per Independent. “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.”
Oscar-winning director Guillermo del Toro echoed the grief, writing on Bluesky: “The world lost a genial man, a genius communicator and supreme artist. I lost a friend, beloved.”
For decades, he was the go-to creator for some of the most successful films in Hollywood history. Over time, his work became inseparable from the stories they represented.
The Master Behind the Magic
The man being honored is Drew Struzan, who passed away on October 13, 2025, at the age of 78.
His family confirmed the cause of death was complications from Alzheimer’s disease, a condition he had battled for years.
A statement posted to his official Instagram read:
“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.”
Struzan was born in Oregon in 1947 and later moved to California to study at the ArtCenter College of Design.
To pay tuition, he sold artwork and accepted small freelance jobs. That hustle led him to the music industry, where he created album covers for artists including Alice Cooper, Black Sabbath, and the Bee Gees.
His sleeve for Alice Cooper’s Welcome to My Nightmare would eventually be ranked among Rolling Stone’s greatest album covers.
But his destiny wasn’t records. It was movies.
A Star Wars Breakthrough
In 1978, he was invited to paint the human characters for the re-release poster of Star Wars.
The project launched him into Hollywood superstardom. He soon became a trusted collaborator for both George Lucas and Steven Spielberg.
Over the next three decades, Struzan created more than 150 movie posters. His credits include Indiana Jones, Back to the Future, E.T., The Goonies, Blade Runner, The Thing, Harry Potter, and The Shawshank Redemption.
Spielberg once admitted he felt pressure to “live up to the art” Struzan would later make for his movies.
Struzan never saw his work as simple marketing.
“I felt that art was more than just telling the story,” he explained in a 2021 interview. “Telling the story in a poster is wrong for a movie. I wasn’t looking to tell a story. I’m looking to give a person a feeling about something they could hope for.”
That belief gave his posters a timeless energy. Long after VHS tapes faded and DVDs scratched, Struzan’s artwork still burned in memory.
When asked which poster he loved most, Struzan always refused to pick.
“If I had a favorite, then I would have already done the best I can do,” he said. “I’d lose my spark of creativity. My favorite is always the very next one.”
That mindset kept him going through years of relentless deadlines, often painting entire franchises that would later become cornerstones of pop culture.
Struzan semi-retired in 2008 after working on Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. But even then, Hollywood wasn’t done with him.
He returned to create limited art for Star Wars: The Force Awakens and lent his talent to the How to Train Your Dragon trilogy.
His impact was celebrated in the 2013 documentary Drew: The Man Behind the Poster, which featured interviews with Spielberg, Lucas, Harrison Ford, and others who worked alongside him.
Family, Fans, and Final Years
In March 2025, his wife Dylan revealed publicly that Struzan could no longer paint due to Alzheimer’s progression.
“Drew has left a strong legacy of love and joy in the form of his work,” she wrote. “It has always been a love letter of sorts. His aim was to make the earth a better place in which to live by creating something beautiful.”
He is survived by Dylan and their son Christian.
To film lovers, Struzan wasn’t just an illustrator. He was the architect of nostalgia.
When people imagine Luke Skywalker, Indiana Jones, or Marty McFly, they often see them through his brushstrokes.
As Guillermo del Toro put it, the world lost “a genial man, a genius communicator and supreme artist.”
And as Spielberg summed up: Drew Struzan didn’t just make posters—he made event art.
Featured image credit: Disney
