In honor of the legendary poster artist’s passing, we take a look back at the very best works of a master.
Drew Struzan, who passed away this week, has probably burned some of his artwork into your mind at some point. Over the past almost 40 years, Struzan’s timeless artistry has given us some of the most famous movie posters of all time, illustrating classic after classic.
To celebrate his legacy, we’re taking a walk down memory lane with a collection and reminder of the best of a career filled with all-time bests, but in particular his work from across the realms of sci-fi, fantasy, and horror (plus a few more we couldn’t resist).
Okay, we’re cheating a little to start off—but it’s too perfect not to include here. This Dark Tower art wasn’t for a Dark Tower movie but instead for use in the opening of the 2007 King adaptation The Mist. Thomas Jane’s David Drayton, an illustrator himself, is seen working on this hypothetical movie poster before things kick off.
Just another absolute icon of ’80s poster work—there’s just so much going on here, and all of it good, but Kurt Russell’s Jack Burton standing tall over it all is priceless.
In many ways, Struzan is as Star Wars as any concept artist or designer was to the galaxy far, far away: his poster work, from the original’s re-release all the way to the special poster he crafted for The Force Awakens post-retirement, is some of the most defining imagery of the whole franchise. We’re focusing on theatrical posters here, but we’d be remiss not to mention the dozens more illustrations Struzan did to cover the books of Star Wars‘ expanded universe (including that sumptuous cover to the wonderfully infamous Courtship of Princess Leia).Star Wars 1978 “Circus Poster”Revenge of the Jedi Star Wars Special EditionsThe Prequel TrilogyThe Force Awakens
Struzan first started painting this artwork for Blade Runner‘s original theatrical release in 1982, but it was ultimately passed on, leaving the piece unfinished for nearly two decades.
