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Illustrator Drew Struzan died on October 13, 2025, aged 78. His painted imagery helped define the visual identity of Star Wars and Indiana Jones, while his career also began with commercial illustration, including record-album covers. His death was reported on October 14, 2025.
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The Art of Drew Struzan | $22.94 | Buy on Amazon |
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Drew Struzan: Oeuvre | $42.70 | Buy on Amazon |
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The Movie Posters of Drew Struzan | $49.99 | Buy on Amazon |
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Nancy Drew Book Poster 1980. Old Bell's Secret Vintage Book Cover Art Printed Poster-gigapixel-scale... | $13.83 | Buy on Amazon |
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Drew Struzan: Oeuvre | $434.19 | Buy on Amazon |
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When did Drew Struzan die?
Struzan died on October 13, 2025, at age 78. The Guardian reported his death on October 14, 2025, citing a statement posted to his official Instagram account. The phrase “King of the Movie Poster” is an honorific used to frame his legacy, not a formal title.
What made Struzan’s movie posters distinctive?
Struzan’s painted images became closely associated with major film franchises. Lucasfilm describes his illustration of Luke and Leia swinging across the Death Star chasm as a defining image; George Lucas was impressed enough to make Struzan a go-to artist for later franchise posters. He also worked on posters for the first four Indiana Jones films and contributed to the Star Wars prequel trilogy and Special Edition rereleases.
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These are documented examples of his work, rather than a complete count of his posters. The tributes establish his importance to those franchises but do not provide a basis for ranking him against other poster artists by output, sales, or measured audience influence.
Beyond film posters: album covers and visual influence
Struzan’s commercial illustration career began in the early 1970s with record-album covers, according to Lucasfilm. That broader background matters: his legacy is not limited to cinema advertising, even though his painted movie imagery is what made him widely recognizable.
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Industrial Light & Magic says the typography in its current logo, revealed in 2023, was closely inspired by typography in one of Struzan’s paintings. It is a specific example of his visual influence extending into studio identity, not a measure of how widely his style shaped design overall.
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Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy said, “When one thinks of iconic movie poster artists, Drew Struzan is the first name that comes to mind.” The statement is the tribute of a named studio executive and reflects the esteem in which Lucasfilm held his work.
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