Visionary movie poster artist Drew Struzan, known from Star Wars & Harry Potter, dies at 78

Visionary poster artist Drew Struzan, whose painted, airbrushed images helped revolutionize modern day movie marketing has died at the age of 78. The artist's family posted on Instagram that he passed away on October 13, 2025, along with a brief note about his health issues and the legacy he has left behind.

The Instagram post talked about his Alzheimer's disease and how he fought through it and wrote,

"The disease, this particular disease, took the wind out of him.He could no longer speak his language out loud. We respected the tenacity, his ability to hold on to the fire within that continued to rage. Daily he tended the flame reviewing the paintings of those he had long admired. Van Gogh. Gauguin. Cézanne. The Impressionists who fought diligently against the status quo."

Born in Oregon City in 1947 and trained at the Art Center College of Design, Drew Struzan began by designing album covers before moving into film work in the 1970s. In March of this year, his wife Dylan Struzan shared that the actor was struggling with Alzheimer's and found it difficult to engage with fans even as he tried to.

As of now, tributes are pouring in from across the industry, who remember him as a meticulous craftsman and an artist who helped shape how generations visualized blockbuster cinema.

Tributes for Drew Struzan poured in after his death

Drew Struzan leaves behind a vast body of work that hangs on galleries and bedroom walls alike. For anyone who fell in love with movies through a painted poster, his images will continue to pull you into the frame. Tributes soon poured in, honoring the legendary artist's life and work as fellow directors and artists of the industry talked about his artistry.

Steven Spielberg celebrated the artist as he stated,

“Drew made event art. 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.”

Guillermo del Toro, another director Struzan worked with, stated,

“The world lost a genial man, a genius communicator and supreme artist. I lost a friend — beloved Drew.”

DC President and Batman artist Jim Lee also shared a few words and wrote,

“A giant among giants. 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.”

You probably grew up with his art even if you didn’t know his name. Over five decades, Struzan created the warm, cinematic portraits that became the face of films such as Star Wars, Back To The Future, Indiana Jones, and E.T. The Extra Terrestrial, and Harry Potter And The Sorcerer’s Stone. His posters did more than advertise movies. They captured emotion, character, and the tone of an era through expert draftsmanship and a distinct airbrush technique.